Things are starting to look pretty bleak for Apple in China, at least in regards to its future iPad sales. The company recently lost a court battle with Proview, a computer monitor maker, who is claiming that it owns the iPad trademark in China.
Even though Apple is appealing the decision, retailers have already started removing iPads from their shelves. And according to a new report, Proview’s lawyers are now trying to stop iPad shipments into the country as well…
Reuters reports:
“Proview is petitioning Chinese customs to stop shipments of Apple iPads, lawyer Xie Xianghui told Asian Legal Business, a Thomson Reuters publication.”
Between this and the fact that iPads are being taken off store shelves, Apple could be facing an all out tablet ban in the country. This is terrible news for the company, who recently said China was one of its largest markets for opportunity.
So what does Apple have to say about all of this? Well, it believes that it acquired the rights to the iPad trademark from Proview several years ago. A spokeswoman from Apple told Reuters:
“We bought Proview’s worldwide rights to the iPad trademark in 10 different countries several years ago. Proview refuses to honor their agreement with Apple in China and a Hong Kong court has sided with Apple in this matter,”
It’ll be interesting to see how this unfolds. If Apple loses the appeal, it could have to either stop selling the iPad in China, or completely change its name.