News: Apple Defends Use of iPad Trademark in China During Heated Court Battle

Full story below courtesy of [Billboard Biz]

SHANGHAI (AP) – Apple defended its right to use the iPad trademark in China in a heated court hearing Wednesday that pitted the electronics giant against a struggling company that denies it sold the mainland China rights to the tablet’s name.
Shenzhen Proview Technology’s lawyer Xie Xianghui argued that the sale of the iPad trademark to Apple Inc. by Proview’s Taiwan affiliate in 2009 was invalid.

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“Apple has no right to sell iPads under that name,” Xie said. Apple countered that Proview violated the sales contract by failing to transfer the trademark rights in mainland China.
It also contends that the Chinese LCD maker has not marketed or sold its own “IPAD,” or Internet Personal Access Device for years, thus possibly invalidating its claim to the trademark.

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The hearing adjourned after a fractious four-hour session which saw the judge repeatedly admonishing both sides to observe proper court protocol as they argued across the courtroom. No date was announced for a judgment or further hearings.
     Proview is suing to stop Apple selling the iPad in China under     that name. It has also asked commercial authorities in many     cities to stop sales of the device. So far, iPads have been     pulled from shelves in some Chinese cities but there has been     no sign of action at the national level.
     Ma Dongxiao, another Proview lawyer, said after the hearing     that the company plans to file lawsuits against Apple in more     cities.
     As evidence in court, Proview presented a flat, thin computer     packed in a cardboard box that it said is its “IPAD.”
     The company’s lawyers argued the success of the iPad had     prevented Proview’s product from succeeding in China. Apple’s     side noted that the iPad only began selling in 2010, long after     Proview launched its product in 2000.
     Apple’s attorneys said that stopping iPad sales in China would     cause the company huge losses. The tablet’s popularity has     benefited China through tax revenues and jobs created in its     manufacturing, they said.
     “They have no market, no sales, no customers. They have     nothing,” Apple lawyer Qu Miao said of Proview. “The iPad is so     popular that it is in short supply. We have to consider the     public good.”
     That, Xie said, is irrelevant.
     “Whether people will go hungry because you can’t sell iPads in     China is not the issue,” he said. “The court must rule     according to the law. Do you absolutely have to sell the     product? Can’t you sell it using a different name?”
     The trademark case is highlighting mixed attitudes toward Apple     in China. Chinese are just as crazy about iPads and iPhones as     consumers anywhere else and the devices are manufactured in     China, employing hundreds of thousands of people.
     But public awareness has been growing of criticism over the     labor and environmental practices of huge factories that     assemble the devices. Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group, which     makes iPads in China, has been under intense scrutiny after a     spate of worker suicides. It recently raised wages by up to 25     percent in the second major salary hike in less than two years.
     Apple has appealed an earlier ruling in favor of Proview in a     court in Shenzhen, a city in southern China’s Guangdong     province. The Guangdong High Court is due to hear that case on     Feb. 29.
     Xie on Tuesday said that since no final decisions have been     reached in various legal disputes over the issue, both sides     were “still able to sit together and reach an out-of-court     settlement.” Apple has shown no indication of willingness to     settle.
     The current trademark battle is unlikely to have much effect on     sales of the iPad 2 but could affect future iterations of the     device, said Xu Jia, chief editor of the Chinese magazine PC     Home.
     “It could affect a future iPad 3,” Xu said. “If the official     products are banned from being sold in China, we will see how     the products in the black market start to have very good     sales.”
     Apple, based in Cupertino, California, insists it holds the     trademark rights to the iPad in China, having purchased them     from Proview for 35,000 British pounds ($55,000) through a     company set up for that purpose.
     A court in Hong Kong, which has a separate legal system from     mainland China, ruled in July that Proview had acted with the     intention of “injuring Apple.” Proview’s lawyers argued     Wednesday that any rulings in Hong Kong were not admissible in     Chinese courts.