Apple said offering Proview $16 million in settlement [U]
updated 12:50 am EDT, Fri May 11, 2012
Sum would fall well short of repaying Proview creditors
[Update: Proview said to have rejected the offer] The settlement offer Apple is extending to Proview is valued at $16 million, according to local reports. Earlier this week a Proview lawyer claimed that the two parties were discussing a compensation package, and that Apple had even named an amount, but at the time he declined to provide any more details. If accurate, the $16 million figure will still fall well short of the $63 million Proview owes to creditors as a part of its bankruptcy.
A settlement suggests that Apple is either unable or just unwilling to contest Proview's claims. While Apple has asserted that it acquired the rights to the mainland Chinese iPad trademark from Proview's Taiwanese division, Proview has insisted that they were separately owned by Proview Shenzhen. At one point, reports emerged claiming evidence in Apple's favor, but nothing appears to have come from them in practice.
The trademark dispute could explain why the third-generation iPad has yet to launch in mainland China. The iPad 2 is still available there, but Apple may be reluctant to introduce another product to the market until it can be sure it won't incur heavy financial penalties.
Update: Chinese website Sina is reporting that Proview has turned down the offer as too low.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Mar 2009
still too much
Proview won't get anything anyway so Apple is fighting the creditors, which could be worse for them. At this point, Apple needs to consider how much money they will have to continue to spend fighting the battle in China versus making a minor payment to the banks to settle this mess. When it all ends, Apple better own exclusive rights to the iPad name around the world with no strings attached. If not, I would continue to fight the courts.