Apple Suffers Setback in iPad Brand Name Dispute with Proview in Chinese Court

Barring the Mac, Apple's rather generic-sounding brand names have often invited trademark disputes. Be it Apple's now resolved dispute of the name "iPhone" with VoIP major Cisco, or its rather bizarre claim to the word "App" that was stonewalled by a variety of industry majors such as Amazon.com, which it is likely to lose. A relatively unheard of brand name dispute has been over the name "iPad", which Chinese company Proview Technology claims to have been holding since before the release of the popular tablet device.

The Shenzhen-based company got an immediate respite when the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court rejected Apple's claims to the iPad moniker. Apple had almost brokered a deal with the Taiwan branch of Proview, which the Shenzhen HQ rejected, sending the two in a legal tussle over the brand name. Proview claims to be holding the iPad brand name since the year 2000. Proview plans to take this minor yet significant legal victory forward in seeking an immediate halt of sales of iPad (at least in China), and about US $1.5 billion in damages from Apple, which it can appeal against the verdict in a higher court.

source: http://www.techpowerup.com/156360/Apple-Suffers-Setback-in-iPad-Brand-Name-Dispute-with-Proview-in-Chinese-Court.html