Apple loses its battle for iPad trademark in China
APPLE yesterday lost a lawsuit in which it claimed infringement of its iPad trademark by Taiwanese-owned company Proview Technology.
Proview registered the name IPAD for use in mainland China in 2001, and in several other areas including the EU between 2000 and 2004.
In 2006 it agreed to sell the “global trademark” to Apple, but claims that this did not include China. Apple revealed the iPad in January 2010.
This is the latest step in an ongoing legal battle which could see Apple suffer greatly if it is unable to sell its popular tablet device in China.
In October the technology giant announced that China had accounted for 16 per cent of its fourth-quarter sales, contributing about $4.5bn (£2.86bn) – a quadruple increase from earlier in the year.
Tom Cook, the company’s chief executive, said in October, “China – the sky’s the limit there.”
Apple recently lost its bid to halt sales of Samsung’s Galaxy range in the States, claiming copyright infringement.