Proview iPad suit against Apple thrown out of California court
A California judge has tossed out a trademark complaint brought against Apple by Proview Electronics Co. over the iPad name, however an identical case remains unsettled in China.
It was revealed on Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal that Judge Mark Pierce of the Superior Court of the State of California in Santa Clara County dismissed Proview's suit on May 4, three days prior to an announcement from Proview attorneys that suggested Apple may be willing to settle out of court.
First filed in California in February, Proview's complaint asserts that Apple acted "with oppression, fraud and/or malice" when it purchased the iPad moniker from company through a UK proxy named IP Application Development, Ltd. (IPAD, Ltd.). At the time, Proview attorney Xie Xianghui once again made statements that later turned out to be incongruous with actual court proceedings.
In a prepared statement, Proview lawyer Christopher Evans said the California decision to dismiss "was not based on the merits of the case." An Apple spokesperson rebutted the claim and reiterated that the company legally purchased the rights and that "Proview refuses to honor their agreement with Apple in China."
The trademark battle started in 2010 when the struggling Proview threatened to sue Apple for $1.5 billion, claiming that an earlier agreement to sell the "global trademark" didn't include the Chinese market. Since then, Proview has changed its tack and claimed that the iPad trademark purchase was illegitimate because it went through a Taiwanese affiliate and not the parent company in Hong Kong. Proview Electronics Co. is a subsidiary of Proview International Holdings Ltd., a nearly-dead corporation.
The suit is ongoing in China and it remains unclear what effect, if any, the California decision will have on those proceedings. Proview might not be done with its U.S. suit, however, as Evans said the company is "looking forward to presenting the facts in the case to the appellate court, and we are confident that the facts will show that Apple fraudulently obtained the iPad trademarks."
It was revealed on Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal that Judge Mark Pierce of the Superior Court of the State of California in Santa Clara County dismissed Proview's suit on May 4, three days prior to an announcement from Proview attorneys that suggested Apple may be willing to settle out of court.
First filed in California in February, Proview's complaint asserts that Apple acted "with oppression, fraud and/or malice" when it purchased the iPad moniker from company through a UK proxy named IP Application Development, Ltd. (IPAD, Ltd.). At the time, Proview attorney Xie Xianghui once again made statements that later turned out to be incongruous with actual court proceedings.
In a prepared statement, Proview lawyer Christopher Evans said the California decision to dismiss "was not based on the merits of the case." An Apple spokesperson rebutted the claim and reiterated that the company legally purchased the rights and that "Proview refuses to honor their agreement with Apple in China."
The trademark battle started in 2010 when the struggling Proview threatened to sue Apple for $1.5 billion, claiming that an earlier agreement to sell the "global trademark" didn't include the Chinese market. Since then, Proview has changed its tack and claimed that the iPad trademark purchase was illegitimate because it went through a Taiwanese affiliate and not the parent company in Hong Kong. Proview Electronics Co. is a subsidiary of Proview International Holdings Ltd., a nearly-dead corporation.
The suit is ongoing in China and it remains unclear what effect, if any, the California decision will have on those proceedings. Proview might not be done with its U.S. suit, however, as Evans said the company is "looking forward to presenting the facts in the case to the appellate court, and we are confident that the facts will show that Apple fraudulently obtained the iPad trademarks."
Comments
There. Done. Apple has won China now. They can cite… whatever the phrase is. Two words. Can't remember them.
The California will win!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
There. Done. Apple has won China now. They can cite… whatever the phrase is. Two words. Can't remember them.
I believe the words you are searching for are "Bugger off".
Personally, I reckon they should just rebrand and sell in China under the name 'iPaid'.
Damn.
I thought they were 'Fruck You!'.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GTR
Winning in California ain't winning in China, however.
Personally, I reckon they should just rebrand and sell in China under the name 'iPaid'.
Or, since they're already bankrupt, they should call it the "ScrewYouProViewPad".
So, Proview defrauded Apple. They assumed the attempt to buy "iPad" was a front for Apple, they said as much already. So they concocted a scheme to defraud Apple out of $1.5 Billion by directing them to negotiate with their subsidy which claimed to be able to negotiate on behalf of the parent (fraud) so that later the parent could refute the sale and then extort billions from Apple after the product was already distributed by the thousands and the "iPad" name was well-established.
Why is Apple (or the UK company known as IPAD) not suing the pants off of Proview? Isn't this as obvious and plain as day to everyone?
Apple is correct on stating they were close to resolving this issue.
California just moved them to the 50 yard line.
Quote:
Originally Posted by seking
So, Proview defrauded Apple. They assumed the attempt to buy "iPad" was a front for Apple, they said as much already. So they concocted a scheme to defraud Apple out of $1.5 Billion by directing them to negotiate with their subsidy which claimed to be able to negotiate on behalf of the parent (fraud) so that later the parent could refute the sale and then extort billions from Apple after the product was already distributed by the thousands and the "iPad" name was well-established.
Why is Apple (or the UK company known as IPAD) not suing the pants off of Proview? Isn't this as obvious and plain as day to everyone?
What's to sue? ProView is going bankrupt.
So Proview had a "global trademark" that included the U.S. but Apple would buy a "global trademark" with out the chinese market? I believe that.
Apple might well lose this case in China and looks like under pressure from China government, Apple is going to settle. This is very unfortunate if it turns out to be true.
From local news:
Apple risks losing the right to use the iPad trademark in the mainland, a senior official suggested on Tuesday, as a court in Guangdong province sought to mediate a settlement between the US technology giant and a Shenzhen company.
Yan Xiaohong, deputy director of the National Copyright Administration, said in Beijing that the government regarded Shenzhen Proview Technology as the rightful owner of the trademark for the popular tablet computers. His remarks could add to pressure on Apple to find a solution to the stand-off.
A Chinese computer company suing Apple over the rights to the iPad trademark in China was in talks for an out-of-court settlement, a lawyer for the firm said yesterday.
Proview Technology (Shenzhen) has been locked in a drawn-out legal fight with the US technology giant over ownership of the Chinese rights to the "iPad" trademark, which both claim as their own.
"Both parties are now negotiating a settlement," Xie Xianghui, a lawyer for Proview, said.
Apple might well lose this case in China and looks like under pressure from China government, Apple is going to settle. This is very unfortunate if it turns out to be true.
From local news:
Apple risks losing the right to use the iPad trademark in the mainland, a senior official suggested on Tuesday, as a court in Guangdong province sought to mediate a settlement between the US technology giant and a Shenzhen company.
Yan Xiaohong, deputy director of the National Copyright Administration, said in Beijing that the government regarded Shenzhen Proview Technology as the rightful owner of the trademark for the popular tablet computers. His remarks could add to pressure on Apple to find a solution to the stand-off.
A Chinese computer company suing Apple over the rights to the iPad trademark in China was in talks for an out-of-court settlement, a lawyer for the firm said yesterday.
Proview Technology (Shenzhen) has been locked in a drawn-out legal fight with the US technology giant over ownership of the Chinese rights to the "iPad" trademark, which both claim as their own.
"Both parties are now negotiating a settlement," Xie Xianghui, a lawyer for Proview, said.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer
Apple is correct on stating they were close to resolving this issue.
California just moved them to the 50 yard line.
I don't really think this decision will bear much weight in the China case. If I understand correctly, what Apple argued was that the case was being properly tried in China and that this case really should have not been brought.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hopl67
Apple might well lose this case in China and looks like under pressure from China government, Apple is going to settle. This is very unfortunate if it turns out to be true.
From local news:
Apple risks losing the right to use the iPad trademark in the mainland, a senior official suggested on Tuesday, as a court in Guangdong province sought to mediate a settlement between the US technology giant and a Shenzhen company.
Yan Xiaohong, deputy director of the National Copyright Administration, said in Beijing that the government regarded Shenzhen Proview Technology as the rightful owner of the trademark for the popular tablet computers. His remarks could add to pressure on Apple to find a solution to the stand-off.
A Chinese computer company suing Apple over the rights to the iPad trademark in China was in talks for an out-of-court settlement, a lawyer for the firm said yesterday.
Proview Technology (Shenzhen) has been locked in a drawn-out legal fight with the US technology giant over ownership of the Chinese rights to the "iPad" trademark, which both claim as their own.
"Both parties are now negotiating a settlement," Xie Xianghui, a lawyer for Proview, said.
I think they got this backwards. I suspect the pressure from the Chinese government is on Proview. China knows that their costs are rising compared to other developing countries and I don't think that will allow such a blatant hold-up of Apple. They are pressuring both sides (but especially the bankrupt Proview) to get a deal done and get this out of the news before other Western companies start reconsidering doing business in China.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GTR
Winning in California ain't winning in China, however.
Personally, I reckon they should just rebrand and sell in China under the name 'iPaid'.
People keep saying this, sometimes half in jest. Nevertheless, this would be a horrible mistake. By changing the name of the iPad, Apple would be making a tacit admission that it didn't actually own the name, that Proview owned it. Within 15 seconds, Proview would then sell the rights to the name "iPad" in China, probably to Samsung. And suddenly there would be a knockoff copy being sold in China as the true "iPad", with Apple sucking hind teat.
Poor Gatorguy is probably having a heart attack.
The interesting part of this is that Apple presented an argument to the court that the parties had agreed to let the Hong Kong court settle the matter and the court accepted this argument. Now, if Apple was able to present evidence that the parties did agree to Hong Kong as venue, then Apple's clearly in the driver's seat. The Hong Kong court already sided with Apple and said that Proview appeared to be guilty of conspiracy to defraud. So all of Proview's filings all over China are likely to get thrown out on the basis of the agreement to let Hong Kong handle it.
I don't see that Proview has any leverage at all any more.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jragosta
Poor Gatorguy is probably having a heart attack.
The interesting part of this is that Apple presented an argument to the court that the parties had agreed to let the Hong Kong court settle the matter and the court accepted this argument. Now, if Apple was able to present evidence that the parties did agree to Hong Kong as venue, then Apple's clearly in the driver's seat. The Hong Kong court already sided with Apple and said that Proview appeared to be guilty of conspiracy to defraud. So all of Proview's filings all over China are likely to get thrown out on the basis of the agreement to let Hong Kong handle it.
I don't see that Proview has any leverage at all any more.
All that's left are the public beatings. Bring out The Hulk!
Or:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVbU41tZ1FY
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpamSandwich
I believe the words you are searching for are "Bugger off".
After a few months on the sidelines, I shall just say, as another poster put it, anyone that bothers to even consider Proview's "arguments", is simply... "lamentations over morons". In Asia, Asian business can be crafty, but developed nation businesses are simply not stupid. In the words of the famous meme, Apple is simply saying, as always, "Bitch, Please".
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
There. Done. Apple has won China now. They can cite… whatever the phrase is. Two words. Can't remember them.
Diu Ni! (de lou mo) ... The only two words Apple needs in China. Tim Cook always said they're going to learn as much as possible from China and then apply that knowledge to the rest of teh "emerging marketz". Well, these two words are a good start, and easily translatable to any language