Apple to take Chinese iPhone trademark fight to Supreme People's Court
Apple will continue challenging a recent ruling on the use of the "iPhone" trademark in China, taking the case to the country's Supreme People's Court, the company said in a Thursday press statement.
"We intend to request a retrial with the Supreme People's Court and will continue to vigorously protect our trademark rights," the company told the South China Morning Post, quoted by CNBC.
In March the company lost an appeal with the Beijing Municipal High People's Court, at least temporarily allowing leather goods maker Xintong Tiandi to continue producing products branded under the "IPHONE" name, such as cellphone cases.
In its Thursday statement, Apple added that it was "disappointed" in the lower court ruling, and claimed it had succeeded in several past legal actions against Xintong Tiandi.
The current matter dates back to 2013, when an Apple complaint was rejected on the basis that the company couldn't prove the iPhone name was well known prior to Xintong's registration in 2007. This view was upheld in the recent appeal, with the further observation that Apple's iPhone wasn't sold in mainland China until 2009.
Trademarks and copyrights are semi-regular problems for Apple in China, perhaps the most famous incident being when Apple was forced to pay $60 million to settle a dispute over the "iPad" name.
"We intend to request a retrial with the Supreme People's Court and will continue to vigorously protect our trademark rights," the company told the South China Morning Post, quoted by CNBC.
In March the company lost an appeal with the Beijing Municipal High People's Court, at least temporarily allowing leather goods maker Xintong Tiandi to continue producing products branded under the "IPHONE" name, such as cellphone cases.
In its Thursday statement, Apple added that it was "disappointed" in the lower court ruling, and claimed it had succeeded in several past legal actions against Xintong Tiandi.
The current matter dates back to 2013, when an Apple complaint was rejected on the basis that the company couldn't prove the iPhone name was well known prior to Xintong's registration in 2007. This view was upheld in the recent appeal, with the further observation that Apple's iPhone wasn't sold in mainland China until 2009.
Trademarks and copyrights are semi-regular problems for Apple in China, perhaps the most famous incident being when Apple was forced to pay $60 million to settle a dispute over the "iPad" name.
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Judge Mei-Lin Mi-Lian presiding.
http://www.businessinsider.com/super-cheap-iphone-6-clone-china-2014-12
"Cook plans to meet senior government and Communist Party leaders - including officials in charge of propaganda, said the source, who declined to be named as the plan is not public yet... Apple's online book and film services were shut in China last month, cutting off a potential source of income, following Beijing's introduction of regulations in March imposing strict curbs on online publishing, particularly for foreign firms.
Under President Xi Jinping, China is also trying to shift away from its dependence on foreign technology... The Chinese government could "come in and make it very difficult for Apple to sell there," Icahn said in the interview with CNBC last week.
Apple's refusal to cooperate with the U.S. authorities to provide source code to help them crack open the iPhone that was linked to a mass shooting in San Bernardino also has raised skepticism among some Chinese officials."
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-china-exclusive-idUSKCN0XX0NY