Problems in China: Lower court orders distributors to stop selling iPads

Posted February 20, 2012 by Istvan in Mobile

Apple began to lose field in China in its legal battle over the iPad trademark with Shenzen-based Proview Technology. According to the Associated Press, the Intermediate People’s Court in Huizhou, a city in southern China’s Guangdong province, ruled on Friday that distributors should stop selling iPads in China.

Although the ruling does not have a far-reaching effect, it hurts Apple’s image, as they fight the bankrupt company over the iPad trademark. As we previously reported, Proview did own the trademark rights, but it sold them to the UK IP company in 2009. Apple has published documents that clearly show that the UK-based company bought the rights for 10 countries, including China, but Proview denies this fact.

Apple’s spokeswoman, Carolyn Wu said “We bought Proview’s worldwide rights to the iPad trademark in 10 different countries several years ago. Proview refuses to honor their agreement with Apple in China, and a Hong Kong court sided with Apple in this matter.”

After the situation in China heated up—starting with authorities confiscating iPads—Apple accused Proview of breaching “principles of good faith and fair dealing” and of making “false and misleading” statements.

With this court ruling on its side Proview now plans to ask China’s customs agency to block both imports and exports of iPads, which could hurt Apple, as the Cupertino-based company reportedly plans to launch the iPad 3 on March 7.

As the iPad became popular and Apple became the world’s most valuable tech company, the bankrupt Proview could find a lifeboat with this trademark issue. However, the Hong Kong Court sided with Apple, and the recent documents published by AllThingsD, as the documents shown by Apple to serve as proof, show that Proview is pushing its luck, as the company did own the iPad trademark until 2009.