“Apple Inc is looking to open flagship stores in the major Chinese cities of Chengdu and Shenzhen, government officials said on Wednesday, while it continues to fight a Chinese company over the use of the iPad trademark,” Melanie Lee reports for Reuters. “Opening stores in Shenzhen and Chengdu will be a big boost for Apple’s China business, which currently has only five stores on the mainland, three in Shanghai and two in Beijing.”

“But the possibility of selling iPads in Shenzhen could lead to more legal action after Roger Xie, a lawyer for Proview Technology (Shenzhen), told Reuters that if Apple tried to sell the popular tablets there, Proview would seek an injunction to stop them,” Lee reports. “Apple and Proview are battling it out in the Higher People’s Court in Guangzhou over the right to use the iPad trademark, which Proview contends it owns. Xie said both sides are currently undergoing court-mediated negotiations.”

Lee reports, “Apple submitted documents on Monday to the Shenzhen government to open a store in Holiday Plaza, an upscale mall in the Nanshan district, according to an official with the Market Supervision Administration who would only give his last name as Ni… In Chengdu, in southwestern China, Apple received approval in late May to set up a business unit to handle retail sales and after-sales service, according to an official with the Chengdu Industry and Commerce Administration bureau.”

Read more in the full article here.