Apple settles iPad trademark dispute in China for $60m

Apple has paid $60m (€47.6m) to Proview Technology (Shenzhen) to end a dispute over the iPad trademark in China that saw the world’s most valuable technology company engaged in a protracted legal tussle with a near-bankrupt Chinese firm.

The lawsuit hit sales and delayed the launch of the new iPad in China. Prior to the launch, Proview asked Chinese authorities in scores of Chinese cities to order resellers to take all iPads off their shelves.

The court-mediated settlement, announced on the website of the Higher People’s Court of Guangdong province, lets Apple to get on with selling its tablet in one of its most important markets, analysts said.

“The settlement is great news for Apple. It just allows them to get on with business and stop being distracted,” said Teck-Zhung Wong, a Beijing-based analyst with technology research firm IDC.

“The new iPad has been so late to the China market that if they drag it any longer, Apple will stand to lose quite a bit more.”

Apple and Proview Technology (Shenzhen), a unit of Hong Kong-listed Proview International Holdings Ltd, have been negotiating since the court conducted an initial hearing in February, after Apple appealed a lower court ruling against it.

Apple had said it bought the iPad trademark in various countries from Proview, once a global monitor maker. Proview argued Apple dealt with only one unit of Proview.

The iPad dominates China’s tablet PC market with more than 70% market share, but Lenovo’s Lepad and Samsung’s Galaxy have been winning share.