December 7, 2011 03:13 pm EDT

Chinese court rejects Apple's claim to the iPad name, faces potential sale ban

Before starting to sell the iPad in China last year Apple attempted to trademark the name in the country, but that request was rejected since it was already owned by Shenzhen-based Proview Technology. Apple reached an agreement with the Taiwanese arm of the company for global rights to the moniker, but the Chinese unit, which owns the trademark in that particular country, wasn't so willing to hand over the deed. Apple sued, but the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court rejected Cupertino's claim to ownership earlier this week and now the iPad manufacturer finds itself on the wrong side of a battle over intellectual property rights. Proview Technology has targeted resellers in Shenzhen and Huizhou, demanding an immediate halt to the selling of the iOS tablet. If successful the company plans to expand its quest for an iPad ban to the rest of China. Obviously, Apple can (and likely will) appeal the decision, but we're interested to see how this one shapes up.

Chinese court rejects Apple's claim to the iPad name, faces potential sale ban originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Dec 2011 10:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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