Proview ready to negotiate with Apple over iPad trademark

Well, it looks like the battle for the right to use the iPad trademark is finally coming to a head, as a negotiation between Proview and Apple may be underway.

This news comes after the Chinese-based manufacturer were seeking up to $2 billion from the maker of all iProducts, after it originally wanted only millions of dollars. Apple from day one, has been adamant with the fact that it acquired the iPad trademark fair and square from Proview several years ago, and that the Chinese company was in breach of that agreement.

So, cooler heads have seemingly prevailed, as both users of the iPad name work out some kind of terms. This is far from what was being said last week with Proview, but now the company since then has changed its language and attitude on the matter. “We are now preparing for negotiations,” Proview’s lawyer, Xie Xianghui, told AFP. “The court cases will continue until we reach an agreement.”

When we covered the story last week, I said: “Proview’s strategy of throwing something on the wall and hoping for it to stick, will more than likely fail.” And a few days later, that sentiment seemed to be spot on because a deal that’s far less than what the monitor making company was looking for is now in the works. The reality is, when it comes to smaller companies, Apple is too huge to litigate, because the Cupertino-based company can just outlast the opposition in the courts with its $100 billion war chest — so for most, a compromise is the cheapest and most effective option.

[via ai]