Chinese Customs Tells Proview That Ban of iPad Exports Would be Difficult

[MacRumors]

Reuters reports that Proview Technology will apparently have a hard time blocking Apple iPad exports from China. On Tuesday, we reported that Proview was seeking a block on both Chinese imports and exports of the iPad over a trademark dispute with Apple. Given that Apple's iPad manufacturing is centered in China, such a move would be "catastrophic" for Apple.

However, China's customs authorities told Proview that it would be difficult to execute such a ban due to the popularity of Apple's products:

"The customs have told us that it will be difficult to implement a ban because many Chinese consumers love Apple products. The sheer size of the market is very big," Yang Long-san, chief of Proview Technology (Shenzhen), told Reuters in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

As many commenters have noted, China's Foxconn manufacturers many of Apple's products including the iPad, and a ban on exports would negatively impact Foxconn as well.

Apple claims that it purchased the Chinese rights to the trademark several years ago, but the original owner Proview and Chinese courts have disagreed with that assertion. Apple's case is still pending with Chinese courts as it seeks to appeal earlier rulings.


Article Link: Chinese Customs Tells Proview That Ban of iPad Exports Would be Difficult

[BobbyRond]

Too bad, Proview.

[Exhale]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 9.0; Windows Phone OS 7.5; Trident/5.0; IEMobile/9.0; SAMSUNG; GT-I8350))

I would have been very surprised if something actually happened from it.

[sammich]

Next on: ProView begins bankruptcy procedures.

[usptact]

Hehehe, there is too much money involved, Proview!

[Patrick J]

So long, Proview.

[FloatingBones]

What is it that Proview actually sells?

Do they actually have an "ipad" product? Have they ever had one? Or have they just been squatting on a name?

[Abazigal]

They are clearly just kicking up a ruckus and hoping to pressure Apple into settling for money, what with the imminent release of ipad3 and all. It's opportunism at its ugliest.

For once, here's hoping Apple uses all that wealth to sue said company into bankruptcy!

[lironl]

Hang on a minute, didn't anyone think that this answer reported to be from Chinese customs is a bit odd? I mean, you would think that an export is banned or not banned based on a legal verdict, not based on whether it's popular or not.

[Jayse]

Welcome back to reality Proview. It's nice here

[marksman]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

I have to think something was lost in translation. It is really funny they say imports can't be blocked because Chinese consumers like the products so much. Lol.

[macduke]

Originally Posted by lironl

Hang on a minute, didn't anyone think that this answer reported to be from Chinese customs is a bit odd? I mean, you would think that an export is banned or not banned based on a legal verdict, not based on whether it's popular or not.

Ummm—you do realize we’re talking about China here, right? If it hurts their economy (Apple’s manufacturing partners bring a lot of money into the country and create jobs), then China is going to do what is best for China. Courts be damned! That’s just how they deal.

[iZac]

And as was mentioned before, now Proview are taking on a far more formidable 3rd party ... a larger and more powerful Chinese company.

Reading this, one can see Apple riding it out and dragging Proview’s parent company into it before this is all over.

[mpopkin]

Originally Posted by lironl

Hang on a minute, didn't anyone think that this answer reported to be from Chinese customs is a bit odd? I mean, you would think that an export is banned or not banned based on a legal verdict, not based on whether it's popular or not.

It was a backwards reply from the government(central) that implies that it would hurt China's economic interests to ban exports of Apple products because Apple would and could move operations elsewhere. It also means that the Chinese public, which they want to keep happy and under control will have no reason to protest, and while Proview may very well hold a trademark in China for the ipad name, it benefits China more to help Apple then to rule against it because of long term profitability, job creation and export revenue. Each case that has been ruled against Apple has happened in a low-level quart, equivalent to a State Court(not federal district courts) and well China is a big country.

I would rather see the case disappear, no need for retaliation or continuing legal disputes, Proview is a company with no portfolio of products that is under considerable financial duress within the Chinese market, this claim is an attempt to get money from air.

If for some reason, China was to ban exports of iPads, long term damage would hurt China more than Apple as it would really reshape the export market in China and how foreign companies approach it, regardless of its speed or efficiency, and the benefits to Apple.

[miamialley]

In other news, Apple has a lot of money.

[whooleytoo]

Originally Posted by macduke

Ummm—you do realize we’re talking about China here, right? If it hurts their economy (Apple’s manufacturing partners bring a lot of money into the country and create jobs), then China is going to do what is best for China. Courts be damned! That’s just how they deal.

I guess if you have 1.4+ billion people to keep fed & housed, it changes your priorities somewhat.

[OllyW]

Originally Posted by FloatingBones

What is it that Proview actually sells?

Do they actually have an "ipad" product? Have they ever had one? Or have they just been squatting on a name?

They make monitors.

lifeinhd (one of our forum members) posted a picture last week showing the use of the name on one of their monitors purchased before Apple announced the iPad.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost...3&postcount=46

[SeaFox]

Originally Posted by lironl

Hang on a minute, didn't anyone think that this answer reported to be from Chinese customs is a bit odd? I mean, you would think that an export is banned or not banned based on a legal verdict, not based on whether it's popular or not.

Possible answers to this post:

• Remember other patent/trademark dispute cases against Apple, and how some companies were trying to get Apple products banned from sale in certain EU countries? Do you think the failure of those initiatives is because Apple was clearly in the legal right in those situations? No, it was most likely the same thing: the courts knew the products were that popular and didn't want to be known as the ones who stopped their import.
• Hello, have you been following China and their enforcement of IP laws for the last 20 years? This is hardly a country with strict enforcement of anything. The only difference is for once a U.S. company is on the benefiting end of their system.
• Apple, being a large, famous foreign investor, applied pressure at the right levels of local government.
• Foxconn, being a major Chinese company, was able to call in favors at the right levels of government.
• The Chinese government acted on its own. It recognizes that Apple having an entire product line at the mercy what amounts to a local trademark troll will make other foreign investors rethink plans of expanding their own manufacturing there. The needs of the country outweigh the needs of the single company.

[maril1111]

I soo didn't see that coming...

[Abazigal]

Originally Posted by OllyW

They make monitors.

lifeinhd (one of our forum members) posted a picture last week showing the use of the name on one of their monitors purchased before Apple announced the iPad.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost...3&postcount=46

So what's a screen company doing trademarking the "ipad" name again?

[Owenburson]

If that is a genuine report, that is some serious corruption going on there

[Verita]

Originally Posted by miamialley

In other news, Apple has a lot of money.

Whilst that's true, this should be settled on legal bases, not financial.

[thewitt]

Originally Posted by Owenburson

If that is a genuine report, that is some serious corruption going on there

Corruption is rampant in China.

[farleysmaster]

Originally Posted by Abazigal

They are clearly just kicking up a ruckus and hoping to pressure Apple into settling for money, what with the imminent release of ipad3 and all. It's opportunism at its ugliest.

For once, here's hoping Apple uses all that wealth to sue said company into bankruptcy!

Why? They felt they had a legitimate claim, why shouldn't they defend it? And why should they be punished any more than court costs (or loss of Apple's revenue) if they lose?

[pmjoe]

Gentile reminder of what a corrupt, communist country China is.