Proview, the Shenzhen, China-based manufacturer of computer monitors and other devices, has long asserted that it owns the ‘iPad’ name in that country, and has sued Apple Inc. for roughly $2 billion in copyright infringement damages. Here is Proview’s basic take on the matter –
Proview Technology (Shenzhen) is the legal registrant of the trademark “IPAD” (No. 1590557, registered with the trademark office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce) and shall enjoy exclusive rights to use the trademark.
Proview claims to have owned the iPad name since 2001, and has filed dozens of lawsuits, in attempts to block all iPad sales. A high court Guangzhou, China, has been reviewing the Proview case, and now Yan Xiaohong, Deputy Director of the National Copyright Administration, told reporters in Beijing that China generally regards Proview as being the true owner of the iPad trademark. So far, Apple has been able to bring iPads into China, but perhaps the tables will turn in Proview’s favor, yet again.
Xiaohong states, “The dispute between Apple and Shenzhen Proview concerning the iPad trademark is going through the judicial process – Proview is still the lawful representative and user of the trademark.” The statement is really nothing new for Apple, who has so far had to jump through all sorts of technicality hoops in China, which is somewhat ironic, considering that full-on fake Apple Stores have been popping up all around the country – fake to the point where employees believe their paychecks are actually coming from Cupertino. Still, Apple, being one of those real companies, has to fall in line with protocol, as China sorts out its image as an emerging power on the global scene.