Here's how Apple (AAPL) allegedly got Proview International Holdings to sell them the iPad trademark 35 days before Steve Jobs unveiled the device at a San Francisco press conference.
- Apple hired a British firm called Farncombe International and its managing director, Graham Robinson, to be its secret agent.
- Robinson created a British shell company called IP Application Development Limited ("IPAD Ltd.").
- Using the alias Jonathan Hargreaves, Robinson opened talks in Taiwan with Proview, concealing the fact that he was negotiating on Apple's behalf.
- Asked why he wanted the trademark, Robinson said it was an acronym for IP Application Development.
- Asked what business IPAD Ltd. was in, Robinson was evasive: He said. "I'm sure you can understand that we are not ready to publicize what the company's business is, since we have not yet made any public announcements."
- He further stated, apparently in an e-mail, that "the company will not compete with Proview."
These details -- some familiar, some fresh -- come from a Proview press release issued Monday. It describes an amended complaint filed in a California federal court that is charging Apple with "fraud by intentional misrepresentation, fraud by concealment, fraudulent inducement, and unfair competition."
Reached for comment, Apple denied none of the details in the complaint. Rather, it issued the same statement it's been giving out for nearly a week:
"We bought Proview's worldwide rights to the iPad trademark in 10 different countries several years ago. Proview refuses to honor their agreement with Apple in China and a Hong Kong court has sided with Apple in this matter. Our case is still pending in mainland China."
The irony is that Proview is trying to get a U.S. court to nullify an agreement that it claims in Chinese courts never existed -- namely the one that Apple says sold them the rights to the iPad trademark in mainland China.
Proview's press release has answer for that:
"The legal questions and remedies in the China and U.S. lawsuits are separate and distinct and have no bearing on one another."
COMMENTARY: That's what I call "cutting it close," and very sneaky on Apple's part to acquire the iPad trademark through a third-party.
Apple unveiled the iPad tablet on January 27, 2010, which would put iPad, Ltd's negotiations to acquire the iPad trademark from Proview right around December 22, 2009. If Apple had been unsuccessful in acquiring the "iPad" tradename from Proview, what would Apple have named its new "magical" tablet?
However, I am still a bit confused, because on January 20, 2010, The Jesus Tablet blog reported that Fujitsu owned the trademark "iPad" and that would either prohibit or discourage Apple from using the mark. What has not been reported is that Apple filed requests with the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) several times in late 2009 to extend the time given to oppose Fujitsu's trademark with the USPTO. The USPTO granted the request and extended the time to oppose to 2/28/2010 "on behalf of potential opposer Apple Inc."
Apple's 60-Day Request For Extension of Time to Oppost Upon Concent with USPTO of December 23, 2009 (Click Image To Enlarge)
Letter from USPTO dated December 23, 2009 granting Apple a 60-Day Extension of Time to Oppost Upon Consent (Click Image To Enlarge)
As you can clearly see from the above United States Patent and Trademark Office 60-day extention request filing and the letter granting the 60-day extension, Fujitsu owned the "iPad" trademark, not Proview.
Maybe Fujitsu owned the iPad trademark only in the U.S., not China. Proview apparently ownes the iPad trademark in China, which is the subject of the lawsuit.
I assume that Fujitsu granted Apple the iPad trademark. I have not found proof of this yet. If Proview wins its lawsuit, then the iPad name could not be used in China, unless it is licensed from Proview, and this could be very costly for Apple. This is going to get interesting. Stay tuned for further developments.
Courtesy of an article dated February 27, 2012 appearing in Fortune Technology
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