Apple appears to be willing to concede more ground in its Chinese iPad trademark fight with Proview, finally entering negotiations and submitting a compensation package for the mark (read: settlement), as it looks to put an end its legal fight in the country.
This is according to Proview lawyer Xie Xianghui, who told China’s official government newswire Xinhua: “[It feels] that the attitude of Apple Inc. has changed. Although they expressed that they were willing to negotiate, they have never taken any action before. But now, they are having conversations with us, and we have begun to consult on the case.”
Apple is said to have offered the settlement figure, but Proview has yet to agree a deal.
The move comes two weeks after a Chinese court revealed it was pushing the two companies to reach an agreement. The case has been ongoing since 2010, but it re-emerged this year after Apple contested a decision which ruled that Proview was the legal holder of the ‘iPad’ trademark in China, despite Apple purchasing it via a shell company.
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Proview indicated its interest in settling with Apple as early as February, the same month that company chairman Yang Rongshan warned that Apple that it must “properly” compensate the company if it wishes to gain legal ownership of the trademark.
The case was paused while troubled Proview staved off a liquidation request from one of its creditors at the beginning of the month, and a cash payout from Apple could provide the financially-strapped firm with the means to pay much of its debt back to its creditors.
Apple launched its latest iPad tablet in March, expanding into other markets in the following month. However, the company has not yet launched the device in China, with it believed that Apple could be waiting to end the iPad trademark feud before it does.
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