Apple finally settles Proview iPad trademark case for $60M

You can once again forget about bankrupt Chinese company Proview. Apple has finally settled its long-running iPad trademark dispute with the company for $60 million, Bloomberg reports.

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Apple purchased rights to the iPad name in China from Proview’s Taiwanese arm in 2009  for a mere $55,000, but it quickly became apparent that deal wasn’t completely kosher.

Here’s where it gets confusing: Proview Shenzen sued Apple earlier this year, claiming that its Taiwanese subsidiary couldn’t sell Apple the Chinese iPad trademark. A Hong Kong court later sided with Apple, but that didn’t stop Proview from angling for ways to stop iPad sales in China (which led to iPads being pulled from some store shelves for a short time).

In May, Proview International rejected Apple’s earlier settlement offer, claiming that the amount was too low. The $60 million settlement was well below the $400 million Proview was angling for, but the company likely couldn’t afford dragging out this legal battle any further.

For Apple, $60 million is a small price to pay to move on from this dispute. China has become an increasingly important market for Apple, with its revenues there tripling last quarter to $7.9 billion.

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