By Herman Lai, posted May 7, 2012 at 9:11 PM, 1,218 views,

Apple Seeks Settlement In iPad Trademark Dispute With Proview

Finally! The bitter legal dispute between electronics giant Apple and display manufacturer Proview over the rights to the iPad trademark in China could finally heading toward in a settlement after all. Read on after the break.

Several reports had indicated the talks had indeed been taking place for months and the dispute is is likely to be settled out of court, the key point now is the price. According to Proview’s lawyer Xie Xianghui told Xinhua during an interview:

“We feel that the attitude of Apple Inc. has changed. Although they expressed that they were willing to negotiate, they have never taken any action before. But now, they are having conversations with us, and we have begun to consult on the case.:

The lawyer said he believes it would be beneficial for both Apple and Proview if a settlement were to be reached “as soon as possible” between the two parties.

Apple has offered Proview a compensation package, the amount of which he refused to disclose, but his client has not yet agreed to it. As Bloomberg notes, there’s still a “big gap” remains between Proview and Apple in their expectations of a settlement figure. Despite, any settlement figure would likely have to be substantial, as the struggling Proview reportedly owes eight creditors as much as US$400 million. At the moment, Apple spokesperson Carolyn Wu declined to comment on the settlement. The case and negotiation process will continue at the Higher People’s Court of Guangdong.

The iPad trademark battle began back in 2010 after Apple using $55,000 to acquire the rights to the iPad trademark in China from a Proview sister company in 2009. Proview argued hat the purchase is void because Proview Shenzhen didn’t authorize its affiliate to sell the trademark.

Proview got into bankruptcy after the global financial crisis, and the ownership of the “IPAD” name the company’s only major asset to keep them survive. Back in February, we have received pictures of Proview’s iPAD (Internet Personal Access Device) which looks like a ripoff of Apple’s original iMac.

At the start of February this year, Proview has been seeking as much as $2 billion in compensation from Apple to turn over the iPad trademark in China, and they had even banned the New iPad selling in some areas of China.

Then, in March, Tim Cook made a visit to China and met the Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing to talk on the IP law in China. And previously, a senior official from SAIC in China said that Proview is the rightful owner of the iPad trademark and they do suggest that Apple’s chances of winning it in court might not be high.

We can see Apple is in a rush to settle its iPad trademark issue. The time that left for Apple is quite tight, there was rumor saying an iPad mini is coming in the third quarter of the year, but the New iPad still hasn’t launch in China. The longer the dispute goes for, the more revenue that Apple is going to lose. Tim Cook definitely doesn’t want this to happen for sure! So now, it comes to the final question, how much money is Apple willing to pay for Proview?

Source: Bloomberg, Xinhua