Trademark row over Apple's iPad moves to Shanghai

A debt-laden Chinese computer firm embroiled in a copyright row with Apple over the iPad name on Friday threatened to sue the technology giant in the United States for $2 billion.Proview Technology (Shenzhen) says it owns the Chinese rights for the "iPad" trademark and its lawyers say they are seeking to prevent Apple from shipping the iconic tablet computers into and out of China -- one of the US company's biggest markets.Apple last year took the firm to a Chinese court, claiming trademark infringement, but the court unexpectedly rejected the case over lack of evidence.

A Chinese firm involved in a trademark row with Apple over the iPad name is preparing for talks with the US technology giant, the Chinese firm's lawyer said Tuesday, raising hopes for a settlement.Electronics firm Proview Technology (Shenzhen) says it owns the Chinese rights to the "iPad" trademark and has sought to block sales of Apple's iconic tablet computer in China as well as imports and exports of the device.

A Chinese computer company which sued Apple over the rights to the iPad trademark in China is now in talks for an out-of-court settlement, a lawyer for the firm said Monday.Proview Technology, based in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, has been locked in a drawn-out legal fight with the US technology giant over ownership of the Chinese rights to the "iPad" trademark, which both claim as their own."Both parties are now negotiating a settlement," Xie Xianghui, a lawyer for Proview, told AFP.

A top Chinese official on Tuesday sided with a Chinese firm involved in a legal battle with Apple over the iPad trademark, suggesting the US giant could lose the right to use the iconic name in China.Proview Technology, based in the southern city of Shenzhen, has been locked in a protracted legal battle with Apple over ownership of the Chinese rights to the "iPad" trademark, which both claim as their own.

Apple appeared in a Shanghai court on Wednesday, accused by a Chinese firm of copying software used for the "Siri" personal assistant on its hugely popular iPhones.

A court in Shanghai threw out a civil case against Apple Inc on Thursday, citing a lack of evidence in a trademark dispute and ruled the US computer giant could continue iPad sales in the city.The Shanghai case marked a victory for Apple in a protracted and ongoing legal battle with the debt-laden Proview Technology over rights to the iPad name.

SHANGHAI

Apple’s trademark dispute with a Chinese firm over the term “iPad” is getting knottier by the day for the U.S. technology giant.