Use of the iPad name: Apple and Proview working on an agreement?

A friendly agreement looks like it is being hammered out between Apple and the Chinese company Proview for usage rights of the iPad name in China.

When negotiating the right to use the iPad brand name with an unknown company called IP Application Development who stated they simply wanted to protect the acronym of their company’s name, Proview wasn’t aware that hidden behind the request was Apple who was really looking to lock up the name for use with their future iPad tablet.

Once they had discovered this, the 55 000 dollars paid to Proview suddenly seemed rather meagre, especially since the company is in financial trouble. Proview therefore filed legal actions, stating that they were tricked, with their intention being to renegotiate an agreement that would see them paid a license fee of a few hundred million dollars.

The company doesn’t recognize the agreement signed by their Taiwanese affiliate for the use of the term iPad in China, and has decided to file a lawsuit in China. This has led to Apple’ tablets being seized in numerous cities, with the matter even getting back to the United States with numerous Chinese banks claiming they own the rights to the trademark.

Since then, negotiations have been in progress to try and find a friendly agreement. According to the Chinese news agency Xinhua, progress has been recently made with Apple changing their attitude and softening their position.

It would appear that Apple initially offered financial compensation, which was refused by Proview. It should be noted that the new iPad is yet to be launched in China, so it is possible that Apple wants to close the issue before launching the product rather than risk losing a lawsuit as this would bring a lot of complications.

Apple needs to be present in China with both their smartphones and tablets, with the group’s directors openly admitting that this market is important for their future growth. Analysts also talk of this with conquering the Chinese market providing the company with important growth potential in the future.