Apple gained some footing today in its US trademark suit instigated by the Chinese technology Proview over the iPad name. A California judge has thrown the case out of court, according to the Wall St. Journal.
The news agency reports that California Superior Court Judge Mark Pierce decided to dismiss the case as the two companies had agreed to settle the matter in China. He stated the Proview failed to show evidence that the handling of the issue in Chinese courts was “reasonable or unfair.”
Proview has alleged that when Apple bought the rights to the iPad name for $55,000 in 2009, it did so from a subsidiary that was not legally entitled to sell the trademark. The company also filed the same claims in China’s southern Guangdong province and Hong Kong. A Hong Kong judge sided with Apple, scolding Proview for being opportuntistic and simply taking advantage of Apple’s high profitability. The Chinese company had filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and no longer sells its stock.
The case got somewhat complicated when Beijing National Copyright Administration deputy director Yan Ziaohong ruled that Proview owned rights to the copyright name in China. A Chinese court has urged the two companies to settle on the matter.
Apple reportedly offered a settlement to Proview, which rejected(LINK TO Proview Unhappy with Apple Settlement Offer over iPad Trademark which hasn’t appeared on the site yet) the settlement, stating a “big gap” still existed between the two companies.