Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has finally won a round in its ongoing legal dispute over use of the iPad name in China, reflecting both a potential turning point in its ongoing spat with a Taiwan-linked company called Proview and also suggesting that justice may finally be coming in this convoluted case that is testing China’s fledgling court system. Of course, some might say the win this week in a Shanghai courtroom may also reflect the entry of politics into this case that has captured global headlines, as government officials finally take steps to help Apple, which is clearly much more important to China’s economy than the financially struggling Proview. But from my viewpoint, this latest development is more about making sure that true justice happens, and that companies realize that they can’t use China’s inexperienced legal system to play the kinds of games that occur elsewhere throughout the its business world. Let’s take a look at the actual new development, which has seen a Shanghai court rule that Apple can continue to sell its iPads in the city, one of China’s wealthiest and a much more important market than any of the smaller cities where iPads have been pulled from store shelves after a Shenzhen court ruled that Proview still owns the iPad trademark. (English article; Chinese article) The Shanghai ruling, or really its decision not to rule in the matter yet, is actually just temporary pending a final ruling in the Shenzhen case over who actually owns the iPad name. But it does seem to offer a hint that maybe higher officials in the court system are finally getting involved in this high-profile case that has the potential to seriously damage the reputation of China’s legal system if handled improperly. My understanding of the case if far from complete as I only know what I read in other media reports. But based on what I’ve seen, it appears that the China-based Proview was bound by a broader deal struck by its Taiwan affiliate, also named Proview, to sell the rights to the iPad name to Apple a few years ago in eight or nine global markets. For some reason, perhaps technical or perhaps due to incompetence, the trademark transfer was never completed in China. But rather than honor the agreement and fix the problem, the China-based Proview, which is struggling financially, is now trying to take advantage of the situation to blackmail Apple into paying a massive fee for rights to a name it already sold to Apple several years ago. Hopefully this latest Shanghai court decision will make Proview see that the Chinese court system isn’t a toy it can use for this kind of blackmailing game, and will prompt it to find a reasonable solution with Apple. If it doesn’t, it could ultimately find the tide turn against it in China’s courts and end up with nothing.
Bottom line: A court development in Apple’s favor in Shanghai shows that high-ranking Chinese legal officials are finally getting involved in the trademark case, pushing it towards a more just settlement.
Related postings 相关文章:
◙ iPads: An Endangered Species in China? 中国高级司法官员应介入iPad商标权纠纷
◙ Apple vs Proview: China Legal System Still Broken 苹果与唯冠iPad商标权之争或损及中国版权保护形象
The ongoing legal tiff between Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and a relatively obscure Taiwanese company over the rights to the iPad name in China has mesmerized the Chinese media and Apple fans in general, but what it really shows is how badly broken the Chinese legal system is when it comes to copyright and intellectual property (IP) protection. Instead of protecting companies like Apple, which are the innovators that drive technology, this series of Chinese lawsuits is doing just the opposite, with the Taiwanese company using China’s inept legal system to try and extort money from this global giant. What’s scarier, the Taiwanese company, an affiliate of Proview Technology, could very well win the case, forcing Apple to either pay an extortionate fee for the use of the iPad name in China, or potentially to abandon the name altogether in this important market. Surely this is not what trademark protection law was meant to do. Let’s quickly review the facts in this case to show why it’s become a bit of a farce, albeit a closely watched one. Apparently the Proview affiliate registered the iPad name back in 2001 when the Taiwan parent was developing a product that clearly had no relationship to Apple’s highly popular product of the same name launched in 2010. That Proview product was no doubt a dud, and the company later sold the global rights to the name to a British firm, which ended up selling the rights to Apple. So now it seems the Proview affiliate has discovered the transfer of the iPad name was never properly executed in China. But rather than admit its fault in the matter and complete the name transfer, it is actually suing Apple in China, saying it still owns the iPad name and Apple is violating its copyright. And rather than force the Proview affiliate to correct the situation, which is what would probably happen in any Western courtroom, the Chinese courts seem to be interpreting the law quite literally and saying that Proview still owns the iPad trademark, and that Apple therefore must either license the name again or stop using it. The case isn’t over yet, with hearings taking place in several Chinese courtrooms. But if China is smart, some senior judicial officials should quickly step in and talk with the judges involved and quickly end the case in Apple’s favor or with a reasonable settlement. Otherwise they risk tarnishing the image of a Chinese copyright protection system that, while headed in a positive direction, is still rife with problems.
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) may be able to bully big names like Samsung (Seoul: 005930) by suing them in Western courtrooms over intellectual property (IP) infringement claims, but it may find the tactic more difficult to pursue in China, where it has just lost a major trademark lawsuit to a much smaller Taiwanese player. According to domestic media reports, a court in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen has ruled against Apple, the world’s biggest tech company, in a lawsuit it brought against Proview (HKEx: 334) claiming infringement of its iPad trademark. (
