Authorities seize iPads over trademark dispute in China

Early this month, reports about animosity brewing between Cupertino-based, Apple Inc. and Shenzhen, China-based, Proview Technology first surfaced. The two companies have been bickering over a trademark dispute, pertaining to the use of the word - iPad, while in China, since they hold the rights to that name. Now, a New York Times reports that Chinese authorities, elsewhere in China, too have begun seizing several units of the tablet from local retailers. According to reports, retailers in Xuzhou city, in coastal Jiangsu Province is where the iPad tablets are currently facing "temporary impoundment". This action comes post a December ruling, when the court rejected Apple's plea, which stated that they were the rightful owners of the trademark name - iPad - in China. The company then, according to this report initiated an investigation in some 20 other Chinese cities, with an aim to find out, if the tablets were being sold anywhere else, despite the ruling. The ruling allows authorities to impound the sale of the tablets, until the inquiries get done with.

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