The iPad name has been in hot debate overseas. Photo: Christina Bonnington/Wired 
Apple has agreed to give $60 million to financially troubled PC maker Proview in order to secure the rights to the iPad’s name in China, according to a Chinese court ruling. The payment could help get the ball rolling on sales of the third-generation iPad in the country. The tablet hasn’t yet gone on sale in China despite receiving regulatory approval.
Taiwanese company Proview Electronics agreed to sell the iPad name to Apple for $55,000 in 2006. It had registered the name in Taiwan in 2000 and China in 2001, but Apple only secured the rights to the iPad name from Taiwan — under the guise of a U.K.-based company named IP Application Development. In China, the name was still owned by Proview Technology, a subsidiary, and used in several of the company’s products. Proview, which was facing bankruptcy, first began suing Apple over the issue in 2010.
In February, Proview asked Apple for compensation for trademark infringement. The Chinese company wanted up to $1.6 billion, as well as an apology. Proview also demanded that the tablet be barred from sale in China.
The $60 million payment is a drop in the bucket for Apple, but unfortunately the sum won’t get Proview out of its financial black hole. The company reportedly owes $180 million.
Li Su, head of the consultancy company representing the banks that took control of Proview’s assets, said that Apple originally only wanted to pay a few million for the iPad name in China. Apple then decided to negotiate a larger sum in order to resolve what could have been a long, tedious legal battle in China.
China is a booming market for Apple, so paying extra up front to ensure the iPad can more quickly get into the hands of the Chinese populace was likely a smart move in the long run.
Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/07/apple-chinese-ipad-trademark/
No comments:
Post a Comment