Shanghai Court Sides With Apple In iPad Trademark Battle

Proview Technology, the Chinese company challenging Apple for ownership of the iPad brand in the country, has lost its appeal to ban sales of the tablet in the city of Shanghai.

The financially beleaguered Proview is claiming that it purchased the trademark in the early 2000s and had been aggressively pursuing compensation by requesting that all sales and exports of the iPad be banned in China.

Trademark dispute

The decision at the Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court represents Apple’s first victory against Proview on the mainland, having previously won rights to the name in Hong Kong.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Roger Xie, a lawyer for the Shenzhen-based company, said the decision was “wrong”, and that it would be challenged.

“I don’t agree with their reason,” he said. “They should protect the interest of the trademark holder in compliance with China law. We will appeal.”

Proview has already managed to enforce a sales ban in the Hebei and Henan provinces, pulling the tablets from stores, and a block in Shanghai would have prevented three official Apple stores from stocking the iPad. Today’s decision reflects the challenge the company has set for itself when contending with a large population enamoured with Apple products.

Prior reports have suggested that Proview is seeking approximately 10 billion yuan (£1bn) in compensation. The next phase of the ongoing battle will be an Apple appeal on 29 February in the Guangdong province where they failed to claim the iPad brand last December.

The main object of concern for Apple amid the dispute will be that of the export ban Proview is trying to push. As the Foxconn plant is one of the company’s primary manufacturing hubs, global sales could grind to a halt and the heavily speculated iPad 3 announcement and launch would be put in jeopardy.

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