According to the NY Times, yet another city in China has halted the sale of the iPad over the trademark dispute with Proview Technology. About 45 units have already been confiscated from stores and most have been removed from displays, although the devices are still reported to be available under the table.
“Proview has also made a filing with the General Administration of Customs in China, he said, putting Apple on notice that the company could seek to block the export of iPads, should Proview’s ownership claims be upheld. The seizures follow a ruling in December in which a court in Shenzhen, China, acting in a legal dispute between the two firms, dismissed Apple’s contention that it owned the iPad name in China. Proview later asked the authorities in more than 20 Chinese cities to investigative whether iPads were being sold after the ruling, Mr. Ma said, a move that allows the authorities to impound the tablets until their inquiries are complete. In effect, the seizures and the filing are warnings by Proview of the havoc it could wreak unless Apple agrees to pay a large fee to settle the trademark fight.”
Basically, the insolvent Proview wants money from Apple and although they sold the trademark rights through a Taiwanese subsidiary several years back. The argument is that the sale did not include Chinese rights, and now Proview is owed a large sum of money for which they are willing to settle in or out of court.
via Second City in China Halts Sales of Apple iPads – NYTimes.com.