Money can't buy you love but what it can do is settle a trademark dispute. Fruit themed maker of all things shiny Apple has coughed up $60 million to Chinese company Proview Technology, effectively settling the dispute over the name iPad.
The preceding legal tussle is a result of Proview's claim that Apple dealt with only one unit of the company when buying ownership of the iPad trademark. Proview registered the trademark in 2001 and was granted ownership of the name in China. The company tried to do the same in the States, but didn't fare as well as home.
Although a case of trolling if there ever was one, the outcome can still be considered a win win situation, with both companies ultimately getting something out of it. Proview will be getting a nice pile of cash, which is a godsend considering that the company has $8.68 million in outstanding debt and is knee deep in bankrupcty proceedings. Apple, on the other hand, gets to continue sales of the new iPad in China, somewhat of a cut-your-losses-and-move-on strategy.
Analysts say that the slowed sales and delayed launch of the iPad in Chine already spelled losses for Apple. Indeed, taking into acount the size of the Chinese market and the fact that the iPad commands 70 percent of tablet share there, the figure of $60 million seems like lunch money.
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Settles trademark dispute in China
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