By David Pierson, Los Angeles Times –
BEIJING — Apple Inc. has agreed to pay a Chinese company $60 million to settle a dispute over the name of the iPad tablet in China, one of the company’s most important markets.
The U.S. tech giant had been locked in a two-year battle with Proview Technology, a financially troubled firm in the southern city of Shenzhen.
Apple thought it owned the global rights when it purchased the iPad name from Proview’s parent company. But the Shenzhen firm disagreed, prompting Apple to take legal action.
The dispute landed at the Guangdong High People’s Court, which released a statement Monday saying Apple had settled the case after mediation.
“Apple has transferred $60 million to the account designated by the High Court of Guangdong,” the court said in concluding that the “iPad trademark ownership dispute is satisfactorily resolved.”
Representatives for Apple didn’t reply to requests for comment. Calls to Proview’s attorney went unanswered Monday.
The settlement removes a major obstacle to Apple’s expansion in China, its second-biggest market after the United States. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company recently announced plans to open more stores in China. It currently has five, three in Shanghai and two in Beijing.
This is Apple’s second major legal resolution in recent days. A U.S. District Court granted a preliminary injunction Friday against sales of rival Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus phone in the United States.
