Chinese lawsuit seeks $38M, apology from Apple for use of iPad name

Posted:
in AAPL Investors edited January 2014


A representative from a Chinese company suing Apple in a dispute over the iPad trademark has said it is "demanding an apology" and anticipates Apple will be fined $38 million by a Beijing court over the issue.



In 2006, Apple purchased the iPad trademark from display manufacturer Proview Electronics (Taiwan) for $55,000 by way of a front company called IP Application Development. However, the company claims that the deal did not include the rights to the trademark in China, as those were owned by Proview Technology (Shenzhen), a subsidiary of Proview International in Hong Kong.



After threatening legal action, the company sued Apple in China last year on allegations of trademark infringement. Proview is seeking a total of 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in damages.



Apple countersued, arguing that it was the rightful owner of the trademark, but a Chinese court ruled last December in favor of Proview. The iPad maker has since appealed the decision.



According to the Global Times, Proview Shenzhen's lawyer Xie Xianghui said a court in the Xicheng district of Beijing was ready to "slap Apple with a 240 million yuan ($38 million) fine," but the ruling has been delayed due to Apple's appeal.



The Xicheng district administration denied Xie's claims of an impending 240 million yuan ruling. "It is still under investigation, so no official comments on the case can be made yet," a media officer at the publicity office of the administration told the publication.



Proview isn't just looking for money, though. Xie told the China Daily that the company wants Apple to say sorry. "We ask the court to stop selling and marketing for Apple’s iPad in China. We also demand an apology,” Xie said.



The lawyer also revealed that the company has filed separate lawsuits against Apple's authorized retailers and stores in local courts. One such suit will be heard in a court in the Pudong district of Shanghai later this month.



Xiao Caiyuan, another lawyer representing Proview, believes Apple will likely lose its appeal again. "We have prepared well for a long-term legal battle," Xiao said. However, some reports have suggested that Proview is strapped for cash and is looking to pay off some of its debts with money from the lawsuits.



Apple doesn't specifically break out iPad sales figures in China, but the company sold 15.43 million units worldwide last quarter.



[ View article on AppleInsider ]

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 48
    frankiefrankie Posts: 381member
    Dear China,



    You've stolen billions of dollars of intellectual property over several decades from us. Go F yourself.



    Sincerely,

    America
  • Reply 2 of 48
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    They trademarked the English word "iPad" in China? Ermm... ok.
  • Reply 3 of 48
    Maybe Apple will add and please accept or apology with whipped cream and a cherry on top. Give me a break. They will keep this going for years until that company shrivels up like a prune. As to the 38 million in fines, did they see the q4 numbers? 38 million? Hell they probably spend more on bathroom supplies. When they unveiled the product two years ago I bet that company laughed like everyone else, saying"ha ha ha, there going to try and use that stupid name ha ha ha" . Those laughs have turned to bitter little tears.
  • Reply 4 of 48
    Until the good for nothing company who only got to the name first dies out of bankruptcy.
  • Reply 5 of 48
    well said!
  • Reply 6 of 48
    If they have enough reasons, then Apple will have to shut up and then pay the money for violating IP rights. Apple has already stolen the iPad form factor from another Chinese company. Maybe Apple products will be banned in China, after they were pulled from Australia and Germany.
  • Reply 7 of 48
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    Many layers of hilarious absurdity... but just to grab a few:



    ?*An ?apology? for buying the trademark from the parent company "Proview Electronics" and not ALSO buying it from the subsidiary "Proview Technology?? If there?s truly some legal reason to buy the name twice from the same company, how did the parent company not make that clear at the start, and why is this labyrinthine technicality a matter for an "apology"?



    ? Did Proview trademark iPad after (and because of) Apple?s many i-names, notable iMac and iPod? (Did they trademark it just to troll Apple? Many people thought ?iPad? a likely Apple tablet name long, long before Apple revealed the name.)



    ? Who really wins if Apple takes all iPad operations out of China?



    ?*$38 million. Didn?t Apple just post the second-best quarter of any company in this history of Earth? (Beaten just once by Exxon when oil peaked, IIRC.)
  • Reply 8 of 48


    Everyone knows this company is after a quick buck. That's no secret. Still, I don't know whether to:

    A) Applaud this company for pulling a quick one



    or



    B) Slam Apple for sleeping at the wheel

    There are some smart cookies working at Apple. How they didn't see this one coming is beyond me.



    \



    Yep, I'm leaning toward B.

  • Reply 9 of 48
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Google are probably looking into buying this company now.
  • Reply 10 of 48
    drdoppiodrdoppio Posts: 1,132member
    ...any more than it owes an apology to everyone else for coming up with such a name.
  • Reply 11 of 48
    The Chinese don't give a crap about intellectual property unless it is claimed to be owned by a Chinese company. There are hundreds of thousands of IP violations by Chinese companies, yet the Chinese authorities will always come down in favour of the Chinese.



    The situation is made worse when the Chinese slap arbitrary tariffs on non-Chinese goods to distort the playing field even further.



    There is a simple solution. Stop making products there. Tell the Chinese to go screw themselves.
  • Reply 12 of 48
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by EmperorsNewClothes View Post


    The Chinese don't give a crap about intellectual property unless it is claimed to be owned by a Chinese company. There are hundreds of thousands of IP violations by Chinese companies, yet the Chinese authorities will always come down in favour of the Chinese.



    The situation is made worse when the Chinese slap arbitrary tariffs on non-Chinese goods to distort the playing field even further.



    There is a simple solution. Stop making products there. Tell the Chinese to go screw themselves.



    Absolutely... quickly transfer all manufacture to the new and future factories in Brazil and then the products can be tagged "Made in The Americas" which will go down a lot better with most people.
  • Reply 13 of 48
    Surely the lawyers in China must know IP Application Development (IP.A.D.) ain't the same as iPad!!
  • Reply 14 of 48
    geekdadgeekdad Posts: 1,131member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by frankie View Post


    Dear China,



    You've stolen billions of dollars of intellectual property over several decades from us. Go F yourself.



    Sincerely,

    America



    your speaking for America now? Maybe we should just bring those jobs back to the US....
  • Reply 15 of 48
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Apple's shaking in their boots. If these guys have a legit case, which is a possibility, you never know, Apple should just pay them and move on.
  • Reply 16 of 48
    mcrcnmcrcn Posts: 27member
    Sounds like a good old fashion shakedown to me. Maybe the Chinese officials are watching too many american mafia movies.
  • Reply 17 of 48
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bahiatronic View Post


    Surely the lawyers in China must know IP Application Development (IP.A.D.) ain't the same as iPad!!



    It's not that simple.
  • Reply 18 of 48
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    And yet the Chinese authorities refuse to shut down the fake Apple stores in China where they've copied everything down to the t-shirts the employees wear?
  • Reply 19 of 48
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by geekdad View Post


    your speaking for America now? Maybe we should just bring those jobs back to the US....



    "Those jobs aren't coming back." - Steve Jobs



    That's not to say there's no way out of the recession, it just means the way out is forwards not backwards.
  • Reply 20 of 48
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wiggin View Post


    And yet the Chinese authorities refuse to shut down the fake Apple stores in China where they've copied everything down to the t-shirts the employees wear?



    I don't think they refused.
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