Proview Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., referred to as Shenzhen Proview, built a factory in Shatoujiao Free Trade Zone with an initial area of ??33,000M2. In 1997, it purchased 21 south buildings, bringing the total area to 53,000M2. It is the core of Proview Group The factory has display R&D, manufacturing, and core component design and production technologies, such as plastic injection molding, spray painting, automatic plug-in, PCB semi-finished product production, finished product assembly, deflection coil, light guide plate, backlight plate, LCD module production, etc.
Proview Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. is the first Taiwan-funded enterprise to invest in mainland China. According to statistics from the Market Intelligence Center (MIC) of the Information Council, Proview Group's monitor sales in 2002 ranked fifth in the world. In 2000, Proview Taipei Company, a subsidiary of Proview, registered the iPad trademark in multiple countries and regions. In 2001, Proview Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Proview International, registered two categories of iPad trademarks in mainland China.
In 2006, when Apple began planning to launch the iPad, it discovered that the iPad trademark rights belonged to Proview. In 2009, Apple and Proview reached an agreement, and Proview Taipei Company transferred the iPad global trademark to Apple for 35,000 pounds.
However, Proview Shenzhen said that the iPad’s mainland China trademark rights were not included in the 35,000 pound transfer agreement, and that Shenzhen Proview is the owner of the iPad trademark rights in mainland China. Crown Taipei Company does not have the right to sell, so the mainland China trademark rights of iPad do not belong to Apple.
For this reason, Apple and the British IP Application Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the IP Company) took "Shenzhen Proview" to court. Apple claimed that on December 23, 2009, Proview International CEO and Chairman Yang Rongshan authorized Mai Shihong to sign a relevant agreement to transfer all the rights and interests of 10 trademarks to a British IP company, including a trademark transfer agreement in mainland China. . After the agreement was signed, British IP Company paid Proview Taipei Company 35,000 pounds to purchase all the iPad trademarks, and then British IP Company transferred all rights and interests in the iPad trademarks to Apple for 100,000 pounds.
The two plaintiffs requested the court to order that the exclusive rights to the trademark registration number 1530557 "iPad" and registration number 1682310 "iPad" belong to the plaintiff, and to order the defendant to compensate the plaintiff for the RMB losses in trademark ownership investigation fees and attorney fees. 4 million yuan. The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court accepted the case on April 19, 2010, and held three hearings on February 23, August 21, and October 18, 2011. In December 2011, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court made a first-instance judgment: rejecting the lawsuit claims of Apple and IP companies. The case acceptance fee was RMB 45,600, which was borne by the two plaintiffs.
The first-instance judgment held that: if the plaintiff wants to commercially acquire other people’s trademarks, it should have a higher duty of care. It should enter into a trademark transfer contract with the trademark owner and go through the necessary trademark transfer procedures in accordance with the laws of our country. . The trademark transfer contract in this case was signed between the plaintiff IP company and Proview Electronics Co., Ltd., and the apparent agency between the plaintiff and the defendant was not established. Therefore, the plaintiff's claim lacks factual and legal basis and is dismissed. On February 17, 2012, Proview held a media briefing in Beijing. Proview disclosed that Apple obtained the overseas trademark rights of iPad through fraudulent means, and Proview has never sold the mainland iPad trademark rights. Li Su, Proview’s trademark litigation consultant, said that he is currently entrusting a U.S. lawyer to sue Apple for fraud within a month at the earliest and is expected to claim at least US$2 billion.
According to other news, Yang Rongshan, founder of Shenzhen Proview, said in an interview with the media today that Li Su, president of Hejun Ventures, said recently that he would sue Apple in the United States for a compensation of US$2 billion. This does not mean that Shenzhen Proview Viewpoint. He has hired a new public relations firm to disseminate information to the outside world.
Huang Yiding, vice president of Hejun Ventures, said today, "Yang Rongshan is personally subject to a Hong Kong court injunction, and it is correct to say that our Hejun Ventures does not speak on his behalf.
"He said that Hejun Ventures will no longer release information about the lawsuit between Shenzhen Proview and Apple for the time being.
On February 17, 2012, at the Beijing press conference of Shenzhen Proview, Hejun Ventures President Li Su said at the meeting that there was fraud when Apple used a British IP company to purchase the iPad trademark rights, and it would sue Apple in the United States for US$2 billion. Hejun Ventures is the restructuring consultant appointed by the creditors of eight banks in Shenzhen and the public relations director for iPad trademark litigation. Coordination company.
When introducing the media interview today, Yang Rongshan said, "What Li Su said does not represent Shenzhen Proview. We have now found a public relations company to be responsible for releasing information to the outside world. "He also pointed out that the so-called compensation of US$10 billion, US$2 billion, US$400 million and other specific figures are not Shenzhen Proview's views.
Yang Rongshan admitted to the media that the iPad trademark rights The best solution to the dispute is settlement. “The value of the iPad trademark was not created by Proview, and we will not open our mouths to Apple. ”
Shenzhen Proview attorney Xie Xianghui revealed that the Huizhou Intermediate People’s Court has issued a first-instance verdict on the “Proview v. Huizhou Apple dealer iPad trademark infringement case” and ruled that the Apple dealer-Shenzhen Shundian Chain Co., Ltd.'s Huizhou branch has committed an infringement and is prohibited from selling Apple iPad-related products. It is understood that this is the first time that a domestic Apple distributor has been infringed by a court in an iPad trademark dispute.
Proview has been filed for bankruptcy and liquidation of the iPad trademark. The case may be suspended for this reason
On March 2, 2012, when Apple Inc. and Shenzhen Proview Inc. were fighting over the ownership of the iPad trademark in mainland China, a reporter from Beijing yesterday Bank of China (Shenzhen) Law Firm has learned that a bankruptcy liquidation application filed against Shenzhen Proview will soon be ruled by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Once the court rules that Shenzhen Proview enters bankruptcy liquidation procedures, the two companies will have ownership rights to the iPad trademark. The lawsuit will also be suspended.
According to the provisions of the Bankruptcy Law of the People's Republic of China, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court's review of the bankruptcy application has expired in February. On the 20th, a "Request for a Decision to Accept the Bankruptcy Application as soon as possible" was sent to the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. According to the "Bankruptcy Law", once the court decides to accept the application, the iPad trademark litigation between Shenzhen Proview and Apple of the United States will be suspended in accordance with the law. The lawsuit will not proceed until the court-appointed administrator takes over the property of Shenzhen Proview.
Apple paid US$60 million to settle
According to news from Guangdong Province on July 2, 2012. The High People's Court officially revealed that Apple and Shenzhen Proview reached a settlement in the iPad trademark case, and Apple paid US$60 million to Shenzhen Proview. The mediation agreement in this case took effect on June 25, 2012. On the 28th, an application was made to the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, the court of first instance in the case, to enforce the above-mentioned civil mediation letter. The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court today sent the ruling and enforcement assistance notice to the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to transfer the IPAD trademark involved in the case to Apple. .
It is reported that on June 25, 2012, the Guangdong Provincial Higher People’s Court sent a civil mediation letter to both parties, and the mediation letter officially came into effect. Recently, Apple has submitted a letter of mediation to Guangdong High People’s Court. The court transferred US$60 million to the account designated by the court, and applied to the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, the court of first instance in the case, for enforcement of the above-mentioned civil mediation letter. The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court sent the will to the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce today. The ruling on the transfer of the iPad trademark involved to Apple and the notice of assistance in enforcement
This means that the iPad trademark ownership dispute between Apple and Shenzhen Proview has been successfully resolved.