Apple Settles iPad Dispute in China for $60 Million
A lawsuit that could have prevented Apple from selling its popular iPad tablet in China has been settled for $60 million, the amount the Cupertino company paid Shenzhen Proview Technology. The dispute revolved around the iPad name, which Apple claims it purchased outright in 2009. However, Proview argued it still held iPad rights in China, hence the lawsuit.
Proview reportedly sought as much as $400 million to settle the suit, but swamped in debt, it agreed to accept the $60 million and move on. For Apple, the most valuable company in the world in terms of market capitalization, it was an amount it could live with in order to sell iPad tablets in China.
"The iPad dispute resolution is ended," the Guangdong High People's Court said in a statement. "Apple has transferred $60 to the account of the Guangdong High Court as requested in the mediation letter."
Apple has yet to sell iPad devices in China, the same country where they are made (by Foxconn). China's population is over 1.3 billion people, more than a million of which work at Foxconn.
Proview reportedly sought as much as $400 million to settle the suit, but swamped in debt, it agreed to accept the $60 million and move on. For Apple, the most valuable company in the world in terms of market capitalization, it was an amount it could live with in order to sell iPad tablets in China.
"The iPad dispute resolution is ended," the Guangdong High People's Court said in a statement. "Apple has transferred $60 to the account of the Guangdong High Court as requested in the mediation letter."
Apple has yet to sell iPad devices in China, the same country where they are made (by Foxconn). China's population is over 1.3 billion people, more than a million of which work at Foxconn.
