Apple’s efforts to expand in China have been challenged by a Taiwan firm which claims it owns the rights to the “ipad” trademark.
Proview International Holdings says it registered the name in January 2000 and still owns the trademark within China. The company wants Apple to “immediately stop its rights infringing activities”.
The claim comes after Apple won preliminary injunctions against Proview to prevent it from using the “ipad” name in China. The company, which now makes LCD display panels, previously sold a tablet PC known as the I-Pad.
In 2006 the firm sold the rights to the name for $55,000 to a US company called IP Application Development, which was acting on behalf of Apple. However Proview claims the agreement does not cover China.
Yang Rongshan, Proview’s chairman, said the company intends to sue for damages in both China and the US.
“It is arrogant of Apple to just ignore our rights and go ahead selling the iPad in this market, and we will oppose that,” Mr Yang said. “Besides that, we are in big financial trouble and the trademarks are a valuable asset that could help us sort out part of that trouble.”
Creditord recently seized Proview’s China assets — including trademarks — after the company defaulted on loans totalling $400 million.
Apple began selling the iPad in the world’s most populous country last month, following it a week later with the introduction of the iPhone 4. The company has also opened four retail stores — including the striking Shanghai outlet — and just this week debuted an online store and the App Store.
