That wasn't Apple's last $60m. If it wanted to resume production in the U.S. it still has the means. This is pocket change for Apple. It settled this nuisance suit b/c it wants to keep Sino relations good.
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Apple Settles Chinese 'iPad' Trademark Dispute with Proview for $60 Million
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That wasn't Apple's last $60m. If it wanted to resume production in the U.S. it still has the means. This is pocket change for Apple. It settled this nuisance suit b/c it wants to keep Sino relations good.
$120 million is the amount Apple originally paid for the use of the iPad trademark.
True, the amount is not trivial, but this still seems like a good result for Apple. $60M is a rounding error on the financials and the only upside for Apple in this case -- being able to use the iPad TM in China -- is what they got from the settlement. No doubt $60M is far less than the cost to Apple of having to have, use and market a separate name for the product just in China, including both out-of-pocket costs and dilution of the iPad brand.
Not really - they are heavily indebted and the Apple settlement is headed to pay off some of their debts.
At least this chapter is finished and Apple can move on. Though I do agree that Apple should do a small markup in China to offset the cost.
Say $2-5 per iPad and iPhone for a few months. Apple is still a business and $60 million is still a lot of money.
Say $2-5 per iPad and iPhone for a few months. Apple is still a business and $60 million is still a lot of money.
you are missing my point. Apple clearly prefer worldwide trademarks and were unlikely to launch with a different name in one country. They could have chosen a different name, but their commitment to iPad as the name was never tested due to the deceit. we can never know the real pre launch value because if this.
A Ming vase is a piece of painted porcelain, no more. £15 is its core value. Fashion and sympathies change as any antique dealer will tell you. We are in an era the conserves historical items. This has not always been the case and may not always be so. Changes can and do occur: the Buddhist statues in afghanistan had no value to the Taliban and were destroyed. A Ming vase finding itself in a similar situation has no inherent value.
One of the more bizarre arguments I've ever heard, as you just argued against the the basic rationale for commerce. Not "capitalism", but commerce itself, the actually trading of goods and services between parties that has been going on for tens of thousands of years. Commerce only happens because the buyer values something more than the seller. If the buyer were morally required to reveal to the seller why he valued it more, and the seller were able to jack the price up to capture the additional value for himself, commerce would not happen.
Apple paying these bozos any amount of money is an outrage, an outrage, I tell you, an outrage!
Yeah, I know that Apple can more than afford it but these clowns at Proview made a deal to give up the iPad trademark long before the iPad's release and therefore really don't have a claim to it now. The original deal should have sealed it long ago and these guys deserve nothing.
$60 million because they feel shafted after the iPad's success and for this to go away on Apple's end, pluh-ese!
yeah, 55k for the entire world and 60mn for just China...i guess it should've been another 1000 dollars to get it...Proview Losers go buy some tissues off it rub where sun doesn't shine...at all.
I think it's basically a case of there are no laws. The Chinese government saw that a small Chinese company was legally tricked into selling something for let's be honest... more than it's worth. Some nobody's got $50k for a name they didn't even make, that doesn't relate to THE iPad. DONE. China's poor and that's 500% your average Chinese salary...
Enter the politics. Chinese government/court said "we can make money out of this... behind closed doors tell Apple's lawyers that THERE IS NO LAW... they will lose more than $60 million if they challenge... so just give us $60 million... NOW!!!!"
Business in China is worth more than $60 million a year for Apple so they agreed. Stupid because now it will happen EVERY TIME the Chinese government wants to tax rich foreign companies who try to do business in China. Why? Because they make the rules and can't lose on home turf... or so they think...
It has an inherent value because there are hundreds of museums that will give you good money for it. An item of no "inherent" value except to you would be irreplaceable photos of your family. Imagine you are on a flea market, and someone is selling lots of old black and white photos, for ten pence each. And you recognise that among these photos there are the long lost photos of your grand grandparents that you would be willing to pay $1000 for. How much would you pay? Would you tell him? Would you run the risk that the seller gets greedy and wants $2,000, which you don't have, so you can't even get the photos?
No, there is a difference here. The iPad trademark has only value because Apple wants it. Your wedding ring probably has some value, but _to you_ it probably has ten times more value than to a thief. Or lets say your wedding ring is ten times worth more to you than mine, and vice versa. So the seller doesn't lose out; there is nobody except that one buyer who would pay for the item. The Ming vase is different; it has value except that the seller might not know.
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This is pure extortion from Proview, and they are lucky that Apple decided to pay them out and walk. The only reason they would settle isn't because they didn't have the paperwork, they technically do own the rights to iPad, as proven in the HK court and US court. They are most likely in a rush to get the iPad to market in China for this quarter instead of dragging out this case indefinitely, costing potentially more damage to sales.
I guess that may prove to be a lack of confidence from Apple in the abilities of the Chinese courts to speed up the judicial process, and decided to just end it.
I guess that may prove to be a lack of confidence from Apple in the abilities of the Chinese courts to speed up the judicial process, and decided to just end it.
Apple will "transfer the burden" to ALL of its customers. Where do you think that $60 million came from on the first place? It didn't grown on a tree. Do you not understand how business works?
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The world has never been anything else but disgusting. Nothing has changed in the history of civilization. It's why most of us believe in a better life after death. So what's your point?
I would charge China a hefty premium on the new ipad to make up its loss. Even though $60M is not a lot in Apple's terms, a premium pricing will prevent this from happening again.
I think that would cost more than $60mil....and apple isn't building one is the USA not cause they don't have the money, it's cause they don't wana...
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Lol they already do...iPad cost a crapload of money in china apparently (even after exchange rates)
They are idiots. The corrupt Chinese COMMUNIST/SOCIALIST government got them $60M. Proview will just piss it away again. This was protection money Apple had to pay. There will be other opportunities to get donkey raped again by China. When the cost of cloning, unfounded lawsuits, etc gets high enough, Apple will be manufacturing domestically again.
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You must have zero net worth. I bet you don't know what net worth means.
Proview's $60M iPad payout called a 'thuggish' win over Apple
Proview's $60M iPad payout called a 'thuggish' win over Apple
By Sam Oliver
Published: 08:15 AM EST (05:15 AM PST)
The $60 million settlement paid by Apple for use of the "iPad" name has been a hot topic in China, with a number of users online calling Proview's tactics a "thuggish" way to earn a payout.
China's widespread online reaction to the Proview settlement was captured on Monday by The Wall Street Journal, which noted the word "thug" was a common word choice among popular social networking sites in China like Sina Weibo. "Intellectual property awareness is something to be supported, but Proview is definitely guilty of playing the thug," user "Gosipier" wrote.
Other users joked that Proview's $60 million settlement could prompt others to begin registering various Apple-like "iProduct" names in hopes of getting their own eventual settlement. But Proview made its own product called the "iPAD," or Internet Personal Access Device," beginning in the late '90s.
Many users expressed excitement over the settlement, hoping that the resolution of the dispute between Apple and Proview could lead to the release of the latest third-generation iPad in China. The new iPad was granted regulatory approval by the government in China in late March, but it has yet to go on sale.
China has become a very important part of Apple's business in recent years, as the nation now leads the world in iOS device activations. Last year, the region was the second-largest market for Apple, behind only the U.S.
The Guangdong High People's Court announced that Apple had reached an agreement with Proview to pay $60 million for the rights to the Chinese iPad trademark on Sunday. Earlier reports suggested Proview was seeking $400 million for the iPad trademark, and the company was said to have turned down a $16 million settlement offer from Apple.b
Proview's $60M iPad payout called a 'thuggish' win over Apple
By Sam Oliver
Published: 08:15 AM EST (05:15 AM PST)
The $60 million settlement paid by Apple for use of the "iPad" name has been a hot topic in China, with a number of users online calling Proview's tactics a "thuggish" way to earn a payout.
China's widespread online reaction to the Proview settlement was captured on Monday by The Wall Street Journal, which noted the word "thug" was a common word choice among popular social networking sites in China like Sina Weibo. "Intellectual property awareness is something to be supported, but Proview is definitely guilty of playing the thug," user "Gosipier" wrote.
Other users joked that Proview's $60 million settlement could prompt others to begin registering various Apple-like "iProduct" names in hopes of getting their own eventual settlement. But Proview made its own product called the "iPAD," or Internet Personal Access Device," beginning in the late '90s.
Many users expressed excitement over the settlement, hoping that the resolution of the dispute between Apple and Proview could lead to the release of the latest third-generation iPad in China. The new iPad was granted regulatory approval by the government in China in late March, but it has yet to go on sale.
China has become a very important part of Apple's business in recent years, as the nation now leads the world in iOS device activations. Last year, the region was the second-largest market for Apple, behind only the U.S.
The Guangdong High People's Court announced that Apple had reached an agreement with Proview to pay $60 million for the rights to the Chinese iPad trademark on Sunday. Earlier reports suggested Proview was seeking $400 million for the iPad trademark, and the company was said to have turned down a $16 million settlement offer from Apple.b
Next up for Apple's legal team: suing the Taiwanese arm of ProView to get the 60 million back for fraud.
Huh! Since the chinese government is so quick to point out that there is only one china and that taiwan is part of it, I should think the case could be made that the taiwan branch of Proview is a part of the whole and therefore Proview DID in fact make that $55,000 deal. But course, looks whose court the case would be argued in.
Apple paying these bozos any amount of money is an outrage, an outrage, I tell you, an outrage!
Yeah, I know that Apple can more than afford it but these clowns at Proview made a deal to give up the iPad trademark long before the iPad's release and therefore really don't have a claim to it now. The original deal should have sealed it long ago and these guys deserve nothing.
$60 million because they feel shafted after the iPad's success and for this to go away on Apple's end, pluh-ese!
Quite. It also sets a precedent, a statement of intent that Apple legal counsel will settle even the most vexatious of claims.
Me? Faced with this part-blackmail part-fishing trip, not least from a company that's facing bankruptcy proceedings, I'd have fired up the legal juggernaut, bogged this down in so much paperwork it would be coming out of their lawyers' rear ends, and sat back waiting for Proview (and thus, their claim) to gasp its last breath and expire.
It's become a cliche on MR I know, but in this case I feel it's true. Wouldn't happen under Jobs' watch.
Just FYI even though Hong Kong has been under Chinese jurisdiction for nearly 15 years the legal systems are still separate.
As for this case if the Chinese government really wanted to extort some money from Apple it wouldn't have been settled for $60m. $60m is like how much a high level bureaucrat embezzles a year.
Also the HK and US ruling has nothing to do with China. The main argument in the Chinese case was that the Taiwan company did not have the right to sell the trademark directly bypassing its subsidiary when its subsidiary in China was the actual legal owner of said trademark for use within China. On the other hand in the US case the argument was that Apple deceived ProView into selling an asset for significantly less than how much it was worth. That second argument was probably applied in the HK court as well.
Definitely wrong.
You are basically saying that if one day you come to own 100M USD, then it would be fair for you to be charged 10 times the price every time you eat in a restaurant? Next time you try to buy a house why don't you tell the real estate agent your yearly income and the max price you are willing to pay? Do you think he'll give you a fair deal? Ha ha ha!
Oh and by the way, you know nothing about finance: the value of something is not what one party is willing to buy it at (or sell it at). The value is what both parties are willing to *trade* it at. Like on the stock market. Apple and ProView agreed to *trade* the iPad trademark at 50K USD. That's the value of the trademark at that time. As far as Apple was concerned they iPad could have never been produced or could have been at total flop. You should you get yourself educated before you speak.
You are basically saying that if one day you come to own 100M USD, then it would be fair for you to be charged 10 times the price every time you eat in a restaurant? Next time you try to buy a house why don't you tell the real estate agent your yearly income and the max price you are willing to pay? Do you think he'll give you a fair deal? Ha ha ha!
Oh and by the way, you know nothing about finance: the value of something is not what one party is willing to buy it at (or sell it at). The value is what both parties are willing to *trade* it at. Like on the stock market. Apple and ProView agreed to *trade* the iPad trademark at 50K USD. That's the value of the trademark at that time. As far as Apple was concerned they iPad could have never been produced or could have been at total flop. You should you get yourself educated before you speak.
I dont think you guys realize how much $100+ Billion dollars in cash really is. If Apple had even have of this money back in the 1980's, the whole technological landscape of planet earth could very well be much different today.
Food for thought.