An attorney for Proview is claiming that progress is being made in the company’s trademark dispute with Apple over rights to the “iPad” name. This suggests the company now plans to settle out of court.
Xie Xianghui, an attorney that represents Proview in the city of Shenzhen, spoke with China’s Xinhua this week, and claimed that the two sides have discussed a compensation package. Apple is even said to have gone as far as proposing a settlement sum that it believes would be fair, though Proview has not agreed to any deals.
“We feel the attitude of Apple Inc. has changed,” Xie said. “Although they expressed they were willing to negotiate, they have never taken any actions before, but now they are having conversations with us, and we have begun to consult on the case.”
Xie said he believes a settlement would be beneficial to both parties if it were reached “as soon as possible”. The report included analysis from a Chinese intellectual property lawyer who said the while it’s likely Proview would win the lawsuit against Apple, receiving any compensation could take many years.
Reports had surfaced weeks ago that Apple was in talks with Proview to settle the trademark dispute, since then there has been no indications of talks between the two companies.
Proview has argued that Apple acted fraudulently to acquire the iPad trademark, and that the purchase is void because Proview Shenzhen didn’t authorize its affiliate to sell the trademark.
Proview was once the manufacturer of a bare-bones PC called the “Internet Personal Access Device” or iPAD. The company also had some success building monitors, but has been experiencing hard times since the global financial crisis pushed it into bankruptcy. The near-dead company now has one major asset, the “iPAD” name.