proview logoAmong several lawsuits filed by Chinese company Proview alleging that it legally owns the "iPad" trademark in China despite a deal December 2009 between Proview's Taiwanese arm and a dummy corporation set up by Apple for the purposes of acquiring the trademark, one lawsuit has been filed in the United States. In that suit, filed in California in late February, Proview alleged that Apple had engaged in deception in its efforts to acquire the trademark.

The Wall Street Journal now reports that the judge handling the case has thrown it out of court, citing an apparent agreement between Apple and Proview to adjudicate their differences in Hong Kong courts, where Apple won a decision last year.

After Proview took its legal case to the U.S., Apple argued for the case to be dismissed on the grounds that the parties had agreed to settle any legal disagreements in Hong Kong.

Judge Pierce upheld that view, writing that Proview failed to provide evidence that the selection of Hong Kong was "unreasonable or unfair," according to a copy of the order.

In response to the decision throwing out the U.S. case, Proview's lawyers claimed that the decision was not based on the merits of the case and that the company will appeal the decision.

The U.S. developments come as Apple and Proview continue their litigation in China, where the two companies are engaging in court-suggested settlement talks that have reportedly seen Apple for the first time making a settlement offer. But the two parties apparently remain far apart in their expectations for a settlement, and it is unclear whether the talks will yield any agreement.

Related Roundup: iPad
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iPad

Top Rated Comments

Gubbz Avatar
168 months ago
I don't see the issue, ProView obviously sold the name for what they felt was a fair price, otherwise why did they sell it? Dummy company or not, they willingly sold it. The price shouldn't quadruple (and that is being extremely conservative lol), just because it's Apple... If you queue up and buy a burger, you expect to pay the same as the guy in front of you, you wouldn't expect to be asked to see a payslip so they could calculate out how much you have to pay... It just sounds like sour grapes, if they had known who it was, they'd have upped the price...
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
komodrone Avatar
168 months ago
We all pay 99 cents for a double cheeseburger, whether you're a homeless guy or a billionaire.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ingra888 Avatar
168 months ago
China is china, more than half the stuff they produce are blatant copies with slight differences in words but you can see what they
replicated.
The government in china turns a. Blind eye to it.
But when the shoes on the wrong foot, they can't take no for an answer.
Problem with Chinese businesses is contracts and documents are not worth the paper they are written on.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fabian9 Avatar
168 months ago
I don't see the issue, ProView obviously sold the name for what they felt was a fair price, otherwise why did they sell it? Dummy company or not, they willingly sold it. The price shouldn't quadruple (and that is being extremely conservative lol), just because it's Apple... If you queue up and buy a burger, you expect to pay the same as the guy in front of you, you wouldn't expect to be asked to see a payslip so they could calculate out how much you have to pay... It just sounds like sour grapes, if they had known who it was, they'd have upped the price...

That's exactly right! It's also not very difficult to work out who might have an interest in the name iPad, considering at the time there was an iMac, iPod, iPhone, etc. on the market!

Proview missed a trick here and they're trying to dig themselves out of a hole.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gnasher729 Avatar
168 months ago
From previous articles found on this site, they have mentioned that Taiwan didn't have the rights to sell the name (even though some corporate head office guys were involved).

If I bought a car and "gave" it to my daughter and then she decided to sell it without my signature/say so, then it wasn't a legit sale.

I don't know what is involved in selling rights to a name, but if the right people didn't sign the dotted line then they might have a case.

On the other hand, if I offered to buy your car, you said that it was your daughter's, and I handed the money to your daughter while you were watching, and then you called the police for car theft when I drove away, I don't think you would get away with it. And that is exactly what Proview is trying to do.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bretm Avatar
168 months ago
We all pay 99 cents for a double cheeseburger, whether you're a homeless guy or a billionaire.

The McDouble only has one slice of cheese now. But yeah.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
macbook pro blue green

When Will Apple Release the M5 MacBook Pro?

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:53 pm PDT by
Apple regularly refreshes the MacBook Pro models, and a new version that uses M5 series chips is in the works. Apple just finished refreshing most of the Mac lineup with M4 chips, and now it's time for the M5. Rumors suggest that we could see the first M5 MacBook Pro models this fall. Design There have been no rumors of a design update for the M5 MacBook Pro models that are coming this...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
iOS 18 4 Ambient Music Control Center

How to Use iOS 18.4's New Ambient Music Feature in Control Center

Thursday March 27, 2025 7:45 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone adds an Ambient Music feature to Control Center. Below, we take a closer look at how it works. iOS 18.4 is currently in beta, so the Ambient Music feature is not widely available yet. The update will likely be released to the general public next week. To use the feature on iOS 18.4, open Control Center and tap on the plus sign in the top-left...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

'iPhone Fold' to Feature Metallic Glass Hinge That Resists Deformation

Thursday March 27, 2025 4:21 am PDT by
Last week, we covered a report claiming that Apple's book-style foldable iPhone (or "iPhone Fold," as we are provisionally calling it here) will use liquid metal hinges to improve durability and help minimize screen creasing. Today, a Chinese leaker provided more details on the properties of this hinge material that help to clarify why Apple chose it for its first foldable device. According...