Second City in China Halts Sales of Apple iPads

The New York Times: Officials in the Chinese cities of Xuzhou and Shijiazhuang have halted sales of Apple’s iPad and have seized some inventories of the tablets from retailers. The move come as a trademark dispute between Apple and Proview Technologies escalates. Apple bought the trademark rights for the iPad name from a Proview subsidiary in 2009, but Proview contends that purchase did not cover the Chinese trademark rights. In December, a Chinese court found in Proview’s favor.

Ironically, while businesses complain that the Chinese government ignores international intellectual property laws, they say that the Chinese are draconian in enforcing their own intellectual property laws.