Several online stores in China have suspended iPad sales after Apple's flagship tablet was pulled off some shelves, following allegations that the IT giant had infringed on the iPad trademark owned by a Shenzhen-based company.
Proview Technology Shenzhen holds an iPad trademark it registered in 2001, according to the official website of China's trademark authority, while Apple argued it bought the name from Proview Taiwan, which is associated with but is still a separate entity from the Shenzhen company, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Apple was plunged into a legal dilemma after losing a court case to Proview Technology Shenzhen, over the rights to use the name "iPad" on the Chinese mainland.
Although the final verdict has yet to be decided, authorities in some Chinese cities have taken action to seize iPad tablets after receiving complaints from Proview Technology Shenzhen.
"We are calling on customs authorities to bar the export and import of Apple's iPad," Ma Dongxiao, a lawyer representing Proview Technology Shenzhen, told the Global Times Wednesday.
According to the Beijng News, Apple has responded to the dispute for the first time by saying that Apple purchased the right to use the trademark from Proview, but Proview refused to keep to the relative agreements on the Chinese mainland. At present, Apple says it has won support from a Hong Kong court.
However, Apple's statements were denied by Ma, who said that the Hong Kong court had not begun hearing the case and was not supporting the US giant. Ma added that they would keep on claiming compensation even if Apple gave up on the name since Proview Technology Shenzhen is facing a financial crisis and needs an inflow of capital.
"In fact, Proview always wanted to negotiate with Apple, but Apple did not show any interest in this, so we had to go to court," said Ma.
Early on Monday, some stores in China were ordered by local industry and commerce authorities to stop selling iPads, and iPad vendor accounts also disappeared from amazon.cn and suning.com, two popular online Chinese B2C platforms.
"We are still selling iPads now but they are not showing on the website since they are in short supply and we are waiting to be restocked," said Li, a spokesman for Suning, told the Global Times Wednesday.
A PR spokeswoman surnamed Jin with Amazon in China also said that their halt of iPad sales was not due to the trademark disputes.
"Apple has changed its sales strategy by reducing online sales and putting more emphasis on sales in Apple stores," Jin told the Global Times Wednesday, adding that they had removed iPads from shelves before Spring Festival.
