Company claiming iPad trademark sues Apple in US

Shanghai: Apple is facing yet another challenge to its use of the iPad trademark in China — this time in a court in California.

Proview Electronics Co, a unit of Proview International Holdings, which claims it owns the iPad name, filed a lawsuit against Apple's use of the trademark in mainland China at Santa Clara Superior Court on February 17, Proview spokeswoman Alice Wang said Thursday.

An attempt by Proview to win an injunction to stop Apple from selling iPads in Shanghai was foiled last week when a court there rejected the case pending the resolution of a similar lawsuit in a higher court in China.

Apple had no immediate direct comment on the California lawsuit.

The companies are feuding over whether Proview sold the mainland Chinese rights to the iPad trademark to Apple in a 2009 deal. Proview claims the sale of the iPad China trademark to a company representing Apple by its Taiwan affiliate in 2009 was invalid.

Proview has not challenged the sale of other worldwide rights to the iPad trademark to Apple in the £35,000 (Dh203,142) deal. Apple contends Proview included the mainland Chinese trademark in the sale and says it violated that contract by failing to transfer the trademark rights to Apple.

Proview's lawyers have indicated their company is open to settling its claim to the trademark. In the meantime, the two sides have engaged in legal skirmishes in Hong Kong and in southern China's Guangdong province, where Proview's main office is based.

There, lower courts have sided with Proview in two cases. The Guangdong High Court is due to hear Apple's appeal of the first decision on February 29.