Chinese court mediating talks between Apple and Proview
A Chinese court is encouraging Apple Inc. and Proview Technology to hit a settlement over the iPad trademark dispute, an official at the Higher People’s Court of Guangdong confirmed.
Zhao Le, who works at the foreign affairs office of Guangdong’s Higher People’s Court, said by telephone, “On the one hand, we are trying to process this case, and on the other, we are working on encouraging both sides to settle.”
Roger Xie, a lawyer for Proview, also admitted that the court is mediating in a bid to get the two companies to settle the dispute.
However, Apple spokesperson Carolyn Wu in Beijing declined to comment on the development.
Apple approached the Guangdong court to appeal against a lower court’s ruling that Proview had exclusive rights to the iPad trademark in China. Proview asked the court to ban the sale of the iPad, accusing the Cupertino, Calif.-based gadgets maker of infringing its intellectual property.
Apple claims that it acquired the global rights to the iPad trademark from Proview Technology’s Hong Kong-listed parent firm Proview International, whose shares have been suspended from trading since 2010. But, the Chinese firm argues that the transaction in question is invalid.
