“Proview, the Chinese company that is suing Apple to stop sales of the iPad in China, has updated its case against the Cupertino, Calif.-based company in the United States, amending its lawsuit to directly accuse the electronics giant of fraud and unfair competition,” Hayley Tsukayama reports for The Washington Post.
“According to Proview, Apple misrepresented itself in seeking to secure the ‘iPad’ trademark, buying the trademark from Proview in 2009 through a company Apple created called IP Application Development Ltd., or IPAD,” Tsukayama reports. “This is a slightly different issue than the one Proview is contesting in China, where the company says that the marks it sold don’t apply on the Chinese mainland. The Chinese case maintains there was no deal to transfer the mainland trademarks; the U.S. case seeks to invalidate any kind of deal between the two companies at all.”
Tsukayama reports, “It’s fairly common for large companies to do business through smaller firms, particularly when looking to buy something that would tip off plans for future business moves. What appears to be at issue here is that Apple’s agent said the company wanted the iPad trademark because it was an abbreviation of its name.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: And, the law banning such a practice is?
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Apple’s iPad trademark tactics in China ‘unusual,’ say experts – February 24, 2012
Apple iPad trademark case in Shanghai suspended; Proview injunction rejected – February 24, 2012
Proview sues Apple in the US, mass hilarity ensues – February 24, 2012
Proview files lawsuit in California against Apple over iPad trademark – February 24, 2012
Chinese court says Apple can continue selling iPads in Shanghai – February 23, 2012
