A Chinese court announced Monday that Apple had reached an agreement with Proview for the Chinese rights to the iPad trademark. Apple has agreed to pay $60 million for the rights to the name.
Though Apple will have no trouble paying the $60 million, the figure is a significantly higher price tag than the $55,000 that the company claimed it paid for the trademark in 2009. For its part, Proview had argued that the Chinese trademark hadn’t been included in a deal to transfer other international rights because legal representatives from its Shenzhen affiliate weren’t present when the contract was signed.
Negotiations to being the lawsuit to an end began in April, according to a lawyer from Proview. In May, it was suggested that Proview had turned down a $16 million offer from Apple. At that time, it was said that Proview was seeking $400 million for rights to the trademark.
Proview is said to owe as much as $400 million to its creditors, which include several prominent Chinese banks.
Apple should now be cleared to release its third-generation iPad in China. The new iPad hit the market almost three months ago. Apple has the necessary Chinese regulatory permits, but it’s believed that the company was delaying the release of the device in China until the Proview lawsuit was settled.
