Cloned In China

Apple hasn’t decided to bring its iPad to China Mainland yet, but it seems they get trademark problem to be fixed before they do that. The iPad trademark in China currently is owned by Shenzhen Proview company, who has registered this trademark since 2000 year, for computer and camera related consumer electronics products.

According to a spokesman from Proview, the company also owned the Taiwan iPad trademark, but they already sold it to Apple last year. He also revealed that Apple thought that they would owned the China iPad trademark also after they made  the deal, but in fact they didn’t.

It’s said the price  Shenzhen Proview offers to Apple for China iPad trademark is $3.5 million dollars. The price is very close to the money Apple paid for the China iPhone trademark ‘i-phone’, which was owned by Hanvon company. Apple paid Hanvon $3.65 million dollars to Hanvon on July 18 last year to get this trademark.

Interestingly, a Shenzhen company called Great Loong Brother reportedly is trying to buy the China iPad trademark before Apple. The company launched a Apple-style tablet P88 in last October. When Apple launched iPad in March, Great Loong Brother even claimed Apple stole their P88’s design and were going to take law actions. Its co-founder Wu xiaolong said their company owned the iPad design patent in China, and that they were willing to pay a higher price than Apple for China iPad trademark, and welcame cooperation from Proview to sell China iPad together.

[Source: 163]