Apple vs Proview iPad Trademark Dispute: See What the Chinese iPad Looks Like

A scanned advertisement of the Proview iPad made its way onto the Wall Street Journal's China Real Time Report Blog, Feb. 17, so now everyone can see what the Apple trademark dispute is really all about. As mentioned in the accompanying report, Proview's iPad looks nothing like Apple's, but it does look a little bit like the iMac desktop computer of a decade ago. If you haven't been following the iPad name fight in China, here's where it stands. Proview sued Apple over the right to use the iPad name, and a Chinese court in the Guangdong province ruled in favor of Proview Feb. 20.

Proview sold the rights to the iPad name in 2009, however, and now Apple is threatening a defamation lawsuit over Proview's failure to honor the agreement, The Unofficial Apple Weblog reported Feb. 21. Proview has said the deal was an unauthorized agreement between their Taiwanese branch and Apple, and that it was never ratified for use in mainland China. Apple has appealed the Guangdong court ruling, and the court will hear that case again on Feb. 29, the Associated Press reported.

Apple is reported to have paid around $60,000 for the rights to the iPad name, and several media reports are now saying Proview will eventually settle out of court. Indeed, that would make sense, in part because Proview was kicked out of the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2010 after their chairman declared bankruptcy, the WSJ report noted. The iPad 3 is widely expected to debut March 7, although Apple has made no announcements about any release date or even what features it might have. It's main new features are thought to be a new high-resolution display panel, improved camera capable of 1080p video capture and a 4G LTE antenna for super fast data connections. Tell us in the comments if you're waiting for the iPad 3 or perhaps another next-generation tablet like the Asus Tranformer Prime HD.

MUST READ: Apple iPad 3 Will Double the iPad 2 Resolution: What About Other Features?