Apple iPad sales have doubled following the resolution of a trademark dispute with Chinese firm Proview Technology, which had registered for the “IPAD” trademark in China years before Apple’s own iPad release. The lawsuit resulted in a court-mediated settlement that ended with Apple paying $60 million to Proview.
Dickie Chang, an analyist with research firm IDC, reports that in the third quarter tablet shipments reached 2.07 million units, which is up from 1.15 million in the previous quarter. That’s an 80 percent increase in sales, which Chang clearly associates with the resolution of the trademark dispute.
It was four months after the iPad was available in the U.S. that it finally went on sale in China, hitting stores on July 20. The iPad sales show how Apple tablets and products continue to dominate China’s market. Apple’s major competition in China is Lenovo, which only shipped 278,000 tablets in the third quarter. Following this, Samsung is China’s third top tablet vendor and sold 143,000 units.
Apple sales in China will continue to increase in the fourth quarter because Apple has yet to release the fourth generation iPad or iPad mini. Apple has not yet confirmed when these releases will take place in China, but some reports suggest that a December release is expected. China accounts for 15 percent of Apple’s overall revenues.
