Apple Defends Use of iPad Name in Chinese Court

The Associated Press: On Wednesday, Apple defended its right to use the name “iPad” in a Chinese court hearing that grew quite heated. Shenzhen Proview Technology’s lawyer Xie Xianghui argued, “Apple has no right to sell iPads under that name,” as he attempted to persuade the court that Proview still owned the iPad trademark in China. Apple lawyers countered that it had purchased the trademark rights and Proview had violated its contract by failing to transfer those rights to Apple. During the contentious four-hour hearing, the judge had to remind both sides repeatedly to follow proper court protocol.

A Hong Kong court previously heard the same case and found in Apple’s favor. According to Xie, Proview is open to an out-of-court settlement, but Apple has not taken them up on the offer so far.

No word on when the Chinese court may issue a ruling or hold further hearings.