Apple's iPads taken off the shelves in north China

Earlier this week, China Daily reported officials from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (AIC) took some of Apple's iPads from reseller's shelves in the Xinhua district of Shijiazhuang, the largest city in Hebei province.

This is the latest development in a long running dispute between Apple and Shenzhen-based Proview Technology. In 2001, Proview Technology registered the iPad mark in China. A year earlier, parent company Proview in Taipei had registered the mark across Asia and Europe. Apple bought the iPad marks through a UK company for $55,000 from Proview Taipei. That agreement stated that the Chinese mark was included, but the owner of the mark, Proview Shenzhen, was not party to the agreement.

“The China marks were in the agreement apparently, but what happened was [Apple] did not do the due diligence with regards to the owner of the China mark and what is less clear is why they did not mandate a transfer at closing,” said Stan Abrams, of counsel at GoldenGate Lawyers. Apple could have gone to the PRC Trademark Office and initiated the transfer. A source close to the case told China Law & Practice that because the sale included iPad marks from multiple countries, it is possible that the transfer was overlooked. Transferring of marks becomes much more complex when dealing with several trademarks, said the source.