Chinese firm calls for a ban of the new iPad in China
A local Chinese company has recently warned the suppliers and vendors in the country to stop the sales of the latest Apple iPad which was being unveiled on Wednesday. They have warned the vendors of legal actions over the heated battle regarding the ownership of the iPad trademark.
The bankrupt Chinese display vendor, Proview, claims that the iPad trademark is actually under their control, and could not have been sold by Proview to Apple. Apple has said that it brought the rights to the iPad trademark from Proview in 2009, which ahead of the launch of the original iPad and Proview is refusing to honor that agreement.
An open letter was released on Wednesday, where Proview claimed it had ownership of the iPad trademark in China. This recent statement is among the long line of measures that Proview has forwarded to ban the sale of iPad’s in China, which also includes the latest iPad.
To resolve this dispute between these two companies the Chinese Court is deliberating the case. However on Wednesday, a Chinese consultancy group said that iPad trademark is actually in the hands of eight banks, which took control of Proview’s assets in March 2009 after the company suffered financial losses. So the outcome of the court ruling may however not matter.
According to Hejun Vanguard Group, which represents the eight banks, any negotiation to buy trademark should have been done with the banks and not Proview. Vanguard Group’s Vice president, Huang Yiding, also mentioned that Apple is acting as if they were tricked by Proview, but Apple was fully aware of the facts.
Bank of China, which is also included in the group of banks, has the right to apply to the country’s trademark office to stop the loss of the iPad trademark, as reported by Hejun Vanguard Group.