Apple settles iPad trademark case with $60m

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Apple Inc has paid $60 million in a court-mediated settlement over a trademark case that sheds light on possible legal disputes foreign companies may face as more enter the domestic market.

The money was paid to Proview Technology (Shenzhen) to end a dispute over the iPad trademark in China, the Guangdong High People's Court said on Monday.

Apple is involved in another trademark case in Shanghai.

According to a statement from the court published on Monday, the mediation letter was sent to both parties and came into effect on June 25. And Apple has paid the money into the bank account designated by Guangdong High People's Court.

A request has been made by legal authorities to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to transfer the iPad name from Proview Shenzhen to Apple.

Apple said it acquired the iPad name in China in 2009 when it bought rights from a Proview affiliate in Taiwan for about $55,000. But a court ruling in December found that Proview Shenzhen, which registered the iPad trademark on the mainland in 2001, was not bound by that sale, even though it was part of the same company.

Apple launched its iPad on the mainland in 2010.

Proview Shenzhen, facing bankruptcy, requested authorities in scores of cities to order shops to take all iPads off their shelves and tried to impose an embargo on new models of the iPad prior to the court case.

"We understand that Proview Shenzhen has hundreds of creditors ... any devaluation of the trademark would cause loss to the creditors," the court said.

"We listened to reasonable appeals from both parties ... and find an innovative solution for trademark disputes involving foreign entities."

Xie Xianghui, an attorney representing Proview Shenzhen, told China Daily that the ruling fell short of the original demand of $400 million.

"But we accept the mediation, as it is the best way to settle the lawsuit at the moment," Xie said.

The money will be used to pay Proview's debts, about $400 million, according to Xie. Yang Rongshan, chairman of Shenzhen Proview, also said his company accepted the mediation.

Calls to Apple and interview requests went unanswered.

Analysts and experts said the settlement will allow Apple to get on with selling its popular tablet computer in one of its most important markets.

According to earlier reports, the iPad dominates China's tablet market with more than 70 percent of market share. The iPad series took 62 percent of the global tablet PC market as of last year, data from research company IHS iSuppli showed.

"There might be some Apple lawyers out there who are bitter over this incident, firmly believing their side was in the right, but legal issues are secondary to the business ones," Stan Abrams, a law professor at Central University of Finance and Economics, said.

The case showed "how complex cross-border or multi-jurisdictional intellectual property issues can be".

"If Apple, which is one of the world's largest multinationals, can make these kinds of mistakes, that should really serve as an example for smaller, less experienced companies, including those from China, that they need to take great care in cross-border deals."

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.