Company with claims to iPad trademark in bankruptcy hearing

GUANGZHOU - A Chinese court on Wednesday heard a Taiwanese company's appeal to liquidate Proview Technology (Shenzhen), which has been in legal disputes with Apple Inc over the use of the iPad trademark.

The Higher People's Court of Guangdong Province opened court on Wednesday afternoon to hear the appeal launched by Proview Shenzhen's creditor Fubon Insurance, which is aimed at having the debt-ridden Proview Shenzhen declared bankrupt.

An intermediate court in Shenzhen in March rejected the liquidation request by Fubon, a subsidiary of Taiwan-based Fubon Financial. The company later appealed the judgment.

During Wednesday's hearing, Proview Shenzhen insisted that the company's fixed assets and its ownership of the iPad trademark could help pay off the debts and asked the court to uphold the ruling.

The court did not immediately announce the verdict after the hearing.

Legal experts said Proview Shenzhen's lawsuit against Apple could be halted if Fubon's liquidation request is accepted by the court.

Proview Shenzhen, a Shenzhen-based maker of computer screens and LED lights, has been suing Apple in court over the rights to use the iPad trademark commonly associated with Apple's popular tablet computer.

Proview Shenzhen claims that the Taipei subsidiary of its Hong Kong-based parent company, Proview International Holdings Limited, registered the iPad trademark in a number of countries and regions as early as 2000.

Though Apple bought the rights to use the iPad trademark from Proview Taipei in 2009, Proview Shenzhen says it reserves the right to use the trademark it registered on the Chinese mainland in 2001. The two sides have since been entangled in a drawn-out legal battle.

In December 2011, the Intermediate People's Court in Shenzhen rejected a lawsuit by Apple that accused Proview Shenzhen of infringing on the iPad trademark.

Apple has appealed to the Higher People's Court of Guangdong province, and the case is still pending.