Edible Apple

With Apple’s new iPad set to launch in just a few days, Apple continues to fight a legal battle in China against Proview over the iPad trademark. Proview, if you recall, is angling to ban the sale of iPads in China and is even seeking to ban the export of iPads from China

Initial reports claimed that Proview wanted a whopping $1.6 billion to settle its dispute with Apple, but with creditors reportedly starting to come a’callin, that rumored settlement figure has gone down quite considerably.

Still, Apple asserts that the deal it signed for the iPad trademark includes ownership in mainland China and they’re fighting hard to prove that in Court.

In a recent public statement on the matter, Apple accused Proview of delibirately misleading the Chinese courts and Chinese customers in an attempt to stave off bankruptcy as the company is currently wallowing in a heap of debt – $400 million to be exact.

Apple spokesperson Carolyn Wu explained that Proview’s parent company structured the initial transfer of the iPad trademark in such a manner as to enable it to be called into question down the line.

“Proview clearly made that arrangement so they wouldn’t have to give the money to their creditors in China, Wu said. “Because they still owe a lot of people a lot of money, they are now unfairly trying to get more from Apple for a trademark we already paid for.”

“We respect Chinese laws and regulations,” Wu added, “and as a company that generates a lot of intellectual property we would never knowingly abuse someone else’s trademarks.”

Meanwhile, Proview attorney Xiao Caiyuan blames the legal dispute on Apple, claiming that Apple’s lawyer “made a silly little mistake.” Caiyuan has also said that reports of Proview’s credit troubles have been largely exaggerated.

Meanwhile, the case marches on.