“Two weeks after a Chinese court proposed a settlement between Apple and Proview over a disputed trademark, a Chinese government newswire report suggests Apple is pushing for its own settlement in a bid to close the complaint,” Zack Whittaker reports for CNET.”Proview lawyer Xie Xianghui told China’s government newswire: ‘We feel that the attitude of Apple Inc. has changed. Although they expressed that they were willing to negotiate, they have never taken any action before. But now, they are having conversations with us, and we have begun to consult on the case.'”
“If Apple decides to settle it would force the company to change the name of the iPad in China. It would be a clean resolution, but the company would also take a hit for admitting its fault in the dispute,” Whittaker reports. “The wire report claims Apple had offered a settlement figure to end the litigation, though Proview did not disclose the amount and is not yet agreeing on a deal… As ZDNet’s Hana Stewart-Smith explained, China’s protectionism towards trademarks, patents and other intellectual property ‘is deliberately designed to favor Chinese based companies,’ leaving Apple potentially fighting a no-win battle. ‘This has resulted in Chinese versions of Western brands being protected by patent law, such as Weibo in place of Twitter, and Baidu in place of Google,” she said.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Any resolution to this protracted extortion attempt should at least stipulate that Apple gets to use the iPad trademark in China (that they already own).
Related articles:
Chinese court seeks to mediate iPad trademark dispute; settlement ‘likely’ says Proview lawyer – April 24, 2012
Apple pressures Beijing with iPad snub – April 17, 2012
Apple CEO Tim Cook meets with Vice Premier of China; Proview says ‘political public relations campaign’ – March 28, 2012
Apple: Proview is lying about iPad trademark in China to stave off creditors – March 22, 2012
Major creditor seeks liquidation of Chinese iPad trademark challenger Proview – March 5, 2012
Proview lawyer hopes Apple makes contact for iPad trademark settlement – March 1, 2012
China higher court hears Apple’s iPad trademark appeal – February 29, 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
Ah yes, the Proview lawyer. I’m sure THAT’S a reliable source for data.
Isn’t Proview’s lawyer Lionel Hutz?
I believe Mr. Hutz is basing this case on the previous case of “Finders vs. Keepers”
It’s hard to tell the truth of what Proview (or Apple) is saying publically. I always suspected that this was just a Proview desperation tactic to get a payoff from Apple. This is just the type of blackmail that goes on in business and politics…make Apple “pay off” to be allowed to sell their iPads in China.
Many businesses just cave in and pay off and sigh. I was hoping, despite Apple’s desire (or need) to start selling iPads in China, that Apple would hold firm. Mainly because if you pay off Proview…that would set a precedent for sucessful efforts at obstructing Apple for money or advantage. If you let one blackmailer get away with it, it will encourage all the wolves to gather and try the same. (sigh).
How much is beleaguered pro view, which proview owns the trademark, then buy proview and close it after registering ownership with the sale. Should be cheaper than the so called big gap in asking price of the patent?
ProView lawyers: So, what is your offer?
Apple lawyers: You agree to pay us our legal costs, and crawl back into your hole, okay?
We are dealing with warranty issues with 8 Chinese LED lighting factories, there seems to be no way to make them provide product replacements, that’s the way things work. They are basically thieves. My Chinese wife says the contracts don’t matter much, where would you take them, to the court where the company owner’s uncle works?
Apple offered 4Bs.
ProView said they wanted more.
So Apple threw in 2 Zs, 6 Ms, a Q and a T and said it was their final offer.