Image: Rego Korosi/Flickr (Creative Commons)
After a long legal battle, Apple and Taiwanese monitors manufacturer Proview have finally ended their feud over the “iPad” name with Apple paying US$60 million to Proview in order to have the name in China.
The news broke on the Associated Press, via a local Chinese court:
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/AP/status/219630026478460928″]
The issue started when Apple decided to buy the name “iPad” from Proview in 2009 via a shell company, but Proview didn’t officially give Apple the rights to the name in China. Threatening to sue in 2010, Proview followed through in 2011 and seeking $1.6 billion from Apple. The company soon launched another lawsuit in America, before being rejected.
On the other hand, Apple launched their own suit but lost – the court ruled that the Chinese rights were not included in the deal with Proview.
It was reported earlier in May that both companies were negotiating a settlement – Proview wanted $400 million in order to pay off its debt, while Apple was only offering $16 million. Obviously, the news is somewhere in between – more in favour of Apple, rather than Proview as they have fallen short of the amount sought after.
The settlement basically means that Apple can now sell the iPad in China – it already has the necessary clearances to allow it on sale by the Chinese authorities.