Yesterday, a Chinese court in Shanghai has temporarily lifted the sales ban on iPads. Apple persuaded the court to suspend the ban until a hearing in a higher court is heard February 29th (that’s probably somewhere in the millions of dollars in iPad sales). Anyway, the saga will continue next week.
Meanwhile, the same company, Proview Technologies, that filed the suit in China, has now filed one in the U.S. Proview claims that Apple used deceptive practices when it bought the iPad name back in 2009. Allegedly when Apple approached Proview for the rights to the name, it was because there was a division of Apple called “IP Application Development Ltd.” (IPAD), and there was never any mention of touch screens or apps or total world domination.
Both parties have good reason to settle the dispute quickly, which might end in an out-of-court settlement.
At stake for Apple is its sales and shipments in China, where its CEO Tim Cook said it was merely scratching the surface. Debt-laden Proview International, meanwhile, needs to come up with a viable rescue plan before mid-2012 or else it faces delisting from the Hong Kong stock exchange.
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