PROVIEW Technology (Shenzhen) would like to reach a settlement with electronics giant Apple over an iPad trademark dispute, a Proview lawyer told local media.

    “We want to reach a settlement with Apple and Apple has expressed the willingness to do so, too,” lawyer Xie Xianghui said, according to Shenzhen Economic Daily.

    Xie told the newspaper that Apple had not yet made a specific settlement proposal, however, and he expressed some doubts about the negotiations.

    “Apple lacks sincerity (in solving the dispute),” Xie said.

    Proview’s claim that it owns the iPad trademark in China has recently ignited disputes and retail questions across the country — and possibly beyond. In addition to Proview’s assertion of rights on the mainland, the company petitioned China Customs this week to stop shipments of Apple iPads in and out of China. Proview had not received a response to the petition as of yesterday afternoon.

    Many lawyers say the two sides are likely to settle out of court, speculating that lengthy legal proceedings could damage both.

    “The Chinese market is too important for Apple to give up. Apple will suffer huge losses if it fails to settle with Proview. But Apple’s appeal might buy more time for negotiations with Proview,” said Gu Wenjun, chief semiconductor analyst for Isuppli, a market research company. 

    Proview triumphed over Apple in a Shenzhen lawsuit late last year. According to the local court ruling, Proview owns the mainland trademark for the word “iPad.”

    In response to the lawsuit, Apple said it bought Proview’s worldwide rights to the trademark in 10 different countries several years ago, along with rights to the iPad name from a Taiwan subsidiary. But Proview claims the sale did not cover the trademark’s use in China.

    Apple has appealed to a higher court, where the case will be heard in two weeks. If Apple’s appeal is rejected, it could face a fine of up to 30 billion yuan (US$4.6 billion).

    Zhao Hu, an intellectual property rights lawyer with Beijing H&J Law Firm, also said the two would reach a settlement but noted that Proview might not see a huge payoff.

    “Even if Apple loses the lawsuit, Proview is unlikely to get a huge-sum compensation because it does not have any products named iPad,” he said.

    Bringing confusion to consumers while shopping is a key criteria for trademark infringement, but because Proview doesn’t have any products named iPad, a court could find that Apple did not commit trademark infringement, Zhao explained.

    “But Apple is unlikely to change the name of iPad, either. So a settlement will be good for both parties,” Zhao said.

    Some Chinese cities have ordered retailers to stop selling iPads because of the dispute. (Helen Deng)