The ongoing tussle between Apple and various Chinese courts got a bit more complicated on Friday, with a lower Intermediate People’s Court in Huizhou ruling against Apple and issuing a statement that Chinese distributors should cease shipment of Apple iPads immediately. The ruling is the direct opposite of one handed down earlier this year by a Hong Kong court which ruled that Apple is in fact in the right and it is the plaintiff, Shenzhen Proview Technology that is at fault. (Honk Kong and mainland Chinese courts operate independently.)
Either way, neither side is backing down without a massive fight. Proview is in deep debt and is to be de-listed from local Chinese markets in June. On the flip side, any ban of iPad sales in China is bad enough to Apple’s bottom line in a market which Apple is really just beginning to tap into. However, a ban of imports andexports of iPads could instantly throw a monkey wrench into Apple’s global plans as China is the main source of iPad manufacturing.
Proview maintains that the proxy business Apple opened up in Europe to purchase the iPad trademark several years ago was dishonest, and partly because of that, Shenzhen Proview Technology isn’t bound to Apple’s purchased trademark. Apple on the other hand maintains that Proview is simply suing Apple to prolong their own existence, pointing out that Proview is in deep, deep debt and unlikely to escape without a massive cash influx.
Look for more twists and turns in the coming days/weeks.
