Apple threatened with iPad ban

APPLE    EXPORTS    DISPUTES

China - Chinese tech firm Proview Technology is seeking to ban imports and exports of Apple's popular iPads in and out of China, claiming a copyright ban.

Apple claimed it bought Proview's worldwide trademark in 10 different countries years ago, including rights the iPad name from its Taiwan subsidiary. However, Proview denies the inclusion of the trademark in the sale.

The tech giant lost its case last year when a Shenzhen court agreed Proview owned the trademark for iPad. Apple appealed the face and is due for the final hearing on 29 February.

"Proview refuses to honour their agreement with Apple in China and a Hong Kong court has sided with Apple on this matter," Carolyn Wu, Apple's spokesperson in China, told Bloomberg.

Local news agency Xinhua reported that the Chinese firm was taking legal action, seeking up to 10 billion yuan (S$2 billion) in compensation from Apple for trademark infringement.

Many stores in China have reportedly stopped putting the computer tablet on the shelves for sale since the case was brought to light. Apple has also asked Amazon to suspend the sale of its iPads through its Chinese website.

In various parts of China, local officials have reportedly been confiscating iPads from retailers.

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