US court dismisses Proview "iPad" patent suit against Apple

A US court has dismissed Chinese computer display manufacturer  Shenzhen Proview Technology's case against Apple over rights to the "iPad" name.

Proview had accused technology giant Apple of deceiving it into selling the rights of the "iPad" name for a throwaway price by setting up a company, IP Application Development Ltd (IPADL) in the UK.

Debt-ridden Proview, once one of the four largest display manufacturers in China, is also suing Apple in Chinese courts. In February it filed a lawsuit in California superior court alleging that Apple deceived it by acquiring the rights to the "iPad" name through a special-purpose vehicle. 

Although the decision was not disclosed till yesterday, the California court dismissed the case on 4 May after agreeing with Apple's argument that both companies had agreed to settle the dispute in Hong Kong.

In 2000, Proview Taiwan, a subsidiary of Proview Technology (Shenzhen), registered the trademarks "iPAD" and "IPAD" in many countries, while Proview Technology (Shenzhen) registered the trademark in China in 2001 with a view to launching its own tablet in the future.

Proview Taipei, sold the global rights to the trademark in 2009 to IP Application Development, for £35,000 ($55,104), which in turn sold it to Apple in 2010.
 
But Proview Technology (Shenzhen) says that the trademark for the Chinese market was not included in that agreement because it owned the rights for the trademark in China and not its Taiwan unit.