Chinese retailers put stop to iPad sales
By Zhu Shenshen |
00:22 UTC+8 February 18, 2012
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINESE retailers, including the country's leading electronics seller Suning, have stopped sales of Apple's iPad as the trademark dispute between Apple and the Shenzhen-based Proview intensified.
Suning said yesterday it was halting sales of iPad, following similar actions by major online shopping sites like Amazon.cn and 360buy.com.
During a Beijing press conference, Proview yesterday restated its ownership of the iPad trademark on Chinese mainland and asked domestic retailers to stop selling Apple's wildly popular tablet computer. Apple, which lost a court ruling in Shenzhen recently, must stop selling the iPad or pay more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.59 billion) to Proview if it loses the final court rulings in China, industry insiders said.
"We asked all the Chinese retailers to stop iPad sales. The cases don't cover the trademark transfer value because it's the next-step topic," Ma Dongxiao, a lawyer on behalf of Proview, said in a phone interview yesterday.
The company said earlier this week that it is planning to ask for a ban on the import and export of iPads, which are manufactured in China. That would mean that global sales of the tablet computers will be affected if customs authorities agree to such a request.
Apple China declined to comment yesterday after a statement released earlier this week saying that Apple acquired Proview's rights to the iPad trademark in a number of countries and regions, including Chinese mainland.
Proview, which is deeply in debt, hopes via its lawsuits to lift the possible trademark transfer value, according to research firm Analysys International. The transfer value is expected to hit more than 10 billion yuan and could approach 30 billion yuan, industry insiders said.
After Proview won the first legal ruling in Shenzhen, industry and commerce administrations seized iPads from retailers in Shijiazhuang and Zhengzhou. Proview said it had asked for enforcement in about 30 other cities.
As of yesterday, people could still buy iPads in Apple's retail stores in Shanghai and its online store.
The lawsuit will influence the coming debut of the next-generation iPad 3 in China and bring opportunities to other brands like Samsung and Lenovo, Analysys has said.
Suning said yesterday it was halting sales of iPad, following similar actions by major online shopping sites like Amazon.cn and 360buy.com.
During a Beijing press conference, Proview yesterday restated its ownership of the iPad trademark on Chinese mainland and asked domestic retailers to stop selling Apple's wildly popular tablet computer. Apple, which lost a court ruling in Shenzhen recently, must stop selling the iPad or pay more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.59 billion) to Proview if it loses the final court rulings in China, industry insiders said.
"We asked all the Chinese retailers to stop iPad sales. The cases don't cover the trademark transfer value because it's the next-step topic," Ma Dongxiao, a lawyer on behalf of Proview, said in a phone interview yesterday.
The company said earlier this week that it is planning to ask for a ban on the import and export of iPads, which are manufactured in China. That would mean that global sales of the tablet computers will be affected if customs authorities agree to such a request.
Apple China declined to comment yesterday after a statement released earlier this week saying that Apple acquired Proview's rights to the iPad trademark in a number of countries and regions, including Chinese mainland.
Proview, which is deeply in debt, hopes via its lawsuits to lift the possible trademark transfer value, according to research firm Analysys International. The transfer value is expected to hit more than 10 billion yuan and could approach 30 billion yuan, industry insiders said.
After Proview won the first legal ruling in Shenzhen, industry and commerce administrations seized iPads from retailers in Shijiazhuang and Zhengzhou. Proview said it had asked for enforcement in about 30 other cities.
As of yesterday, people could still buy iPads in Apple's retail stores in Shanghai and its online store.
The lawsuit will influence the coming debut of the next-generation iPad 3 in China and bring opportunities to other brands like Samsung and Lenovo, Analysys has said.
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