Another day, and another chapter in the Proview vs. Apple case seems to be coming to a close. In this chapter the protagonist, Proview, has attempted to get Apple’s iPad yanked from stores in Shanghai, but, unfortunately for them, a Shanghai court has rejected its attempts, and Apple is currently allowed to continue selling iPads in the city. The Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court has released a statement to the public commenting on the ruling. The court has decided to reject the case because both companies are already embattled in a court case in Guangdong Province. There are currently some questions about the legality of the ruling and whether or not the court’s decision runs contrary to copyright law in the country.
Proview has claimed that it holds the trademark for iPad in China and that Apple is illegally using it within the country. Back in 1999 Proview partnered with U.S. chip makers National Semiconductor to launch the I-PAD, a stripped down computer that focused on ease of use and Internet connectivity.
The trademark dispute has been ongoing since 2009, when Apple thought they actually purchased the rights to the name, but clearly Proview thinks otherwise. An Apple spokesperson, Carolyn Wu, speaking to the Wall Street Journal stated that Proview “refuses to honor their agreement with Apple.”
In the meantime, Proview has petitioned customs to stop shipments of the iPad in and out of China. The results of that kind of response would be a huge problem for Apple considering it manufactures iPads within the country. The Chinese government issued a statement on the situation indicating that that level of embargo would be very difficult to carry out successfully.
Get our your popcorn, this book is just getting to the good part.
