Today marks the end of one long battle over the iPad in China. Apple has finally agreed to settle with Proview over the iPad trademark and finally put this whole ordeal to rest…
In case you were unaware, this legal battle has been going on for quite some time now. Apple had initially purchased the iPad trademark from Proview back in 2009, but things went south and Proview claims that Apple had never officially been transferred the trademark before releasing the iPad in 2010.
Proview originally owned the iPad trademark in China through their product the I.P.A.D. (Internet Personal Access Device), which is quite a joke by the way. So things went bad for Proview’s business and they had one fight left to pay off all their debt. They took advantage of a situation with Apple and was initially demanding $400 million. Apple recently offered Proview $16 million to settle but Proview rejected it.
This is the main reason why Apple has yet to release and iPad in China.
Apple finally threw in the towel and has agreed to pay Proview $60 million for the iPad Trademark. Fact is, they’ll probably make more than enough selling the iPad in China over the costs of this ongoing legal battle.
Don’t you think this whole battle was a bit silly?
Source: AP via Cult of Mac
