In recent weeks, we have been talking about the lawsuits in China in which Apple is involved, lawsuits that have so far led to the confiscation of dozens of tablets from the Cupertino company. Well, at the center of these processes is the above product, the first "iPad tablet" which Proview produced many years ago and which in reality is a computer that closely resembles the old iMac. Although that product disappeared shortly after, the trademark rights for it were sold to a company dealing with the commercialization of intellectual rights. Those from Proview stipulated that the iPad brand cannot be sold to a company unless it will use it for a product that is not similar to Proview's and cannot be controlled using hands. Then this stipulation could have referred only to mouse-controlled products, but today it also covers the iPad tablet.
Apparently, Proview tried to stop Apple from using the name "iPod" in 2003, because it was too close to their "iPad" trademark. Proview—which is divided up into Proview Shenzhen, Proview Taipei, Proview Hong Kong—is contending that it sold the iPad intellectual property rights to an IP firm with the stipulation that the company that purchases it cannot make products similar to its iPad—apparently that it could be an e-reader or hand-controlled. (At the time, the "controlled by hand" stipulation probably referred to the mouse.)
However, the problem is not only here because Proview is divided into three separate entities (with offices in Shenzen, Taipei and Hong Kong) that cannot decide one against the other and the entity in Shenzen claims that the sale made by Proview Hong Kong does not apply in China. This is what the company's lawyers stated in the Chinese courts and they managed to obtain sales bans for the iPad tablet, bans based on which they confiscated several dozen tablets and wanted to impose an import/export ban but they failed.
Proview Shenzhen is contending that while Proview Taipei did sell the iPad name to Apple, it violated these stipulations. Moreover, Proview Shenzhen contests that separate Proview entities cannot make contractual decisions on its behalf. Thus, Apple does not have the right to use the iPad moniker in the Mainland.
Here's where things get murky. According to Chinese news source Sina, Proview Shenzhen went broke in Aug. 2010. The Bank of China is now apparently one of 9 companies that own Proview—meaning it's owned by the Chinese government. Apple, it seems, is going up against more than a small bankrupt company. It's going up against China.
However, the case is extremely complicated because Proview has been bankrupt since 2009 and is owned by nine banks, including the Bank of China, which is owned by the Chinese government. It seems that the Chinese government has the most control over Proview, so Apple is now fighting with the Chinese government to be able to continue selling the tablet, and I think it won't face too many problems in the future since the customs authorities refused to ban the import of the tablet. Apple gets a lot of free advertising, the Chinese government keeps getting their money and everyone is happy.
