Apple settles Proview iPad trademark suit for $60 million
updated 07:24 am EDT, Mon July 2, 2012
Apple gets on with new iPad sales in China following settlement
Apple has settled with Proview for $60 million over alleged infringement of the iPad trademark in China, according to Reuters. Apple had claimed that it was the legal owner of the iPad trademark after buying naming rights from Proview in 2009 using a shell company. Although Apple has insisted its deal included the transfer of naming rights in mainland China, Proview asserted default control of the iPad name in the region.
In November a Chinese court ruled in Proview's favor stating that Proview's Shenzen division was the actual owner of the trademark, but had not been represented in Apple's deal with Proview's Taiwanese division at the time. Proview also initiated a lawsuit in the US, arguing that had the company known that Apple was behind the shell company IPADL that made the original deal, it would never have signed the rights over for the $55,000 price it agreed to. That case was thrown out.
Until the overnight announcement that Apple had settled with Proview, both parties had been in mediation talks for several weeks with both trying to avoid a court ruling. The $60 million figure happens to be close the amount owed by Proview to its creditors as it seeks to stave off bankruptcy. While the figure is much higher than the $16 million that Apple is rumored to have initially offered, it will now pave the way for the new iPad to go on sale in the crucial Chinese market, likely having been delayed pending the outcome of the case.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Feb 2006
A shakedown by another name...
...is just another part of doing business. Proview knows this and so does Apple. Don't expect ethical behavior here or anywhere else where businesses can get away with it. Business ethics is an oxymoron. Businesses (even Apple) behave well only when they are required to do so. Just ask Enron, Google, or any other upstanding corporation.