Biting back at Apple

Apple has got itself into a mess over the iPad.

The company is embroiled in a legal battle with Proview Technology, a LCD screen maker in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, which originally registered the trademark in the European Union, China, Mexico, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam between 2000 and 2004.

Apple claims that in 2006 it bought the worldwide rights to the trademark, including the rights to the iPad name, from Taiwan-based Proview Electronics, whose legal agent also owns Proview Technology. However, Proview of Shenzhen says the sale did not cover the trademark's use in the Chinese mainland, where it is the owner of the iPad name.

A Chinese court rejected Apple's claim to the trademark in the Chinese mainland last December and ruled that Proview Technology is not bound by the agreement between Apple and Taiwan-based Proview Electronics which has no entrustment relations with Shenzhen's Proview Technology.

Although Apple has launched another appeal and the final verdict has yet to be decided, authorities in some Chinese cities, such as Guangzhou, have taken action to seize iPad products after receiving complaints from Proview Technology.

As the legal holder of the trademark in this country, Proview Technology certainly has the right to protect its interests.

Chinese rules allow trademark owners to request seizure of goods that violate their rights. These rules were enacted partly in response to foreign pressure for the Chinese government to stamp out the unlicensed copying of foreign goods.

As the defendant, Apple can now better understand the purpose of intellectual property rights protection is to promote innovation and it is against the spirit of innovation to use IPR protection as a business strategy for grabbing market share.