Apple Appeals After Losing iPad Suit to Taiwan Firm

Apple is appealing a 240 million yuan ($38 million) judgment awarded against it by a Beijing court for infringing a Taiwan firm’s trademark on the iPad name.

The iPad named was originally trademarked in 2001 by Taiwan-based monitor-maker Proview. That company used the name in Europe, South Korea, Mexico and Southeast Asia. It wasn’t until 2010 that Apple announced the release of its first iPad tablet computer after securing a release of the name from Proview on December 23, 2009.

The dispute centers on the claim of the Shenzhen branch of Proview that it had not consented to the release and that the change of ownership of the trademark was never approved by China’s trademark office. Apple is contending that the release granted by Proview’s headquarters in Taiwan applies globally to all the company’s branches, including Shenzhen.

Shenzhen Proview, which was nearly bankrupt at the time, sued Apple for trademark infringement in 2010. After winning its suit in Beijing, Shenzhen Proview has filed a second suit in Guangdong, and is expected to file a third later this year in Hong Kong.

On Feb. 22 the Guangdong provincial court will hear arguments to determine whether the rights of Shenzhen Proview had been included in the 2009 trademark sale to Apple.