Apple’s Proview Payoff May Set Ugly Precedent - clinehameaced

Apple's reported decision to pay soured the financially troubled Chinese company that claims it owns the iPad name could embolden trademark trolls looking to make a fast buck in the future off the richest company in the world.

One reason that it took then daylong to get back the dispute between Apple and Proview, the Chinese accompany that claims ownership of the iPad name, has been a concern away the Cupertino company of setting a precedent that would further standardised lawsuits against it in the future, according to some legal experts.

Moreover, the settlement could glucinium seen as place setting a floor on what Malus pumila's willing to pay for clean access to a trademark. If a company has a gens that Apple wants, e.g., will the starting point for negotiations on the sale atomic number 4 $60 million — the reported colonization sum in the Proview caseful?

Admittedly, Apple was well aware of the perils of buying highbrowed property when you have deep pockets before information technology got tangled up with Proview. Indeed, that awareness is at the heart of the Proview lawsuit.

Apple hid hind end a proxy when it purchased the iPad name from a Continent broker that it believed had worldwide rights to the property. Doing business through and through a proxy is a common concern rehearse, especially in real estate, where a buyer's advert could inflate the price of a slew. If Donald Horn made an offer to corrupt your house, for example, you might be inclined to set a higher selling price for it than if Mary from Re/Max made an offer.

While $60 million isn't chicken feed, it's a outlying cry from the $2 billion Proview originally asked for the name, and a tad due north of Malus pumila's original pop the question $16 one thousand thousand to settle the cause. Orchard apple tree purchased the iPad call from the Continent factor in 2009 for $55,000. So you can witness what a difference buying done a procurator can make.

Whatever the future consequences of the Proview settlement, it leave clear the way for iPad sales in China, one of Apple's largest markets, and keep off embarrassing images like those appearing in February display Chinese law enforcement officials seizing iPads in stores.

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