Seeking Apple payout, Proview chairman demands “proper” iPad trademark compensation

Shenzhen Proview Chairman Yang Rongshan has weighed in on the debate around the trademark dispute with Apple by claiming that the American company must compensate the Taiwanese firm “properly” if it is to use the term ‘iPad’ in China, Dow Jones reports.

Speaking at a press conference Yang, who is also the company’s main shareholder, told media that “if we are not compensated properly, then Apple doesn’t use the iPad trademark in mainland China.”

Yang’s comments come one day after strong evidence suggesting Apple owns the patents came to light. A report from AllThingsD revealed the compelling evidence that Apple has in support of its argument that it has already purchased the trademark in China.

Proview claims that a deal was made with affiliates yet Apple has records of emails from Proview’s legal staff in China confirming the sale of the iPad trademark in the country.

While Yang did not provide an indication of exactly how much compensation the firm is seeking from Apple, Dow Jones reports that creditors have indicated that the company has been advised to pursue $2 billion. The briefing also saw the company reveal that it has manufactured 20,000 ‘iPad’ devices — which is pictured below via the Wall Street Journal China Real Time blog — before the legal case saw production cease.

The comments come at the end of a week in which developments around the trademark case have escalated with Apple’s devices withdrawn by some retailers in the country. On Monday, it was revealed that retailers in the city of Shijiazhuang had removed iPads from their shelves at the request of local authorities.

Subsequently, two Web retailers — Sunning and Amazon China — withdrew the product at Apple’s request, however it later emerged that the move was not connected to the legal case, as neither company was registered to sell it in China.

According to Dow Jones, Yang confirmed that authorities in more than 30 Chinese cities have taken action in connection around the dispute, which the Proview head claims is a sign of them “doing their job.”