Proview was forced to settle early amid troubled finances
Apple, Inc. (AAPL) has done its fair share of suing others. Currently Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (KSC:005930) Galaxy Nexus smartphone and Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet are banned in the U.S., thanks to its efforts.
But in China it was Apple this week who was forced to pay up after a lawsuit loss. Apple ponied up $60M USD to Proview International Holdings ltd. (HKG:0334), after the Guangdong High Court ruled in Dec. 2011 that Taiwanese Proview subsidiary Shenzhen Proview Technology had only sold Apple the rights to the iPad trademark in Taiwan, not China.
Apple now officially owns the trademark "iPad" in China. The iPad is a popular status symbol in China, a land where many workers are too poor to buy one of the devices. iPads retail in China for well above their U.S. price point, prices that drive some Chinese teenagers to extreme tactics to get their hands on one. One boy even sold a kidney to get cash for one.
Proview trademarked the phrase "iPad" in 2001 and was approached in 2009 by Apple who sought to buy it for a non-disclosed use. Proview agreed to license the trademark for $55,000 USD.
The tale of lawsuits and litigation is perhaps a cautionary tale for Apple. Much like the fictional Count of Monte Cristo, Proview's quest for monetary revenge consumed it.
The company announced that it may still go bankrupt, after falling short of its target settlement of $400M USD. Company lawyer Xie Xianghui commented to the Associated Press that his client had numerous unpaid debts and that the settlement might not be enough to keep it afloat.
A Shanghai court's refusal to ban sales of the iPad appears to have forced Proview into a hasty settlement. While Proview could have, in theory, won in a prolonged court battle, its almost exhausted financial resources required a hastier exit.
That pending bankruptcy calls into question the status of Proview's second major trademark suit against Apple. That suit was brought back in the U.S. in Apple's home state of California.
Source: AP
"It's okay. The scenarios aren't that clear. But it's good looking. [Steve Jobs] does good design, and [the iPad] is absolutely a good example of that." -- Bill Gates on the Apple iPad
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