“Late yesterday, China’s Hong Kong IP Department granted Apple thirteen new design patents relating to the iPad 2,” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple.
“The designs cover Apple’s Black, White and 3G iPad 2 models in a series of both photographic and illustrative design styles,” Purcher reports. “Apple has dramatically revved up their legal machinery in China this past year as the stream of granted design patents have dramatically risen.”
Purcher reports, “Just in September alone Apple was granted 40 design wins for iOS graphic elements, the MacBook Air and even their Shanghai Apple Store architecture.”
Full article, with Apple's iPad 2 design patent illustrations, here.
One thing to grant a patent. Another thing, if you’re China, to enforce it.
Exactly.. Patents in China are a huge joke. You think Bill Gates is a ripoff artist? 😉
I’m sure it will assist Apple legal in any case against iPad tablet styled clones. Good for Apple.
Hong Kong is, and isn’t, China – it’s a “Special Autonomous Region or SAR”. I’m curious how patents in HK relate to IP protection in China.
(As a SAR, they have a good deal of home rule. That said, Beijing has considerable, but limited, influence over that home rule.)
We’ll here’s the difference, mainly between HK and China: legal. It means everything. HK has a real legal system making it a legitimate option for investment. China has no legal system making it a terrible option for investment.
It’s China. Not Vietnam, not Korea. Although it’s politiical, the UK handed over Hong Kong to …. China. As an outsider, it’s China. The internal politics are of no relevance to most. If you want a history lesson, check out Wikipedia.
I’ve been told by those in the know that every major province of China has an IP Office that have no English versions. I think it’s safe to say that if Apple Stores are in Mainline China that they also have their IP registered when it needs to. The Hong Kong Legal team likely files for the others at the same time as they do for Hong Kong. Apple isn’t stupid.