Proview Charges Apple with Fraud & Unfair Competition in Amended Lawsuit

Proview Technology has stated that it has amended its California lawsuit to include accusations that Apple has committed fraud and unfair competition.

Fraud by intentional misrepresentation, fraud by concealment, fraudulent inducement, and unfair competition are the many allegations Proview has raised in the U.S. complaint. Also Proview has decided to continue pursuing litigation against Apple in China.

While some technology companies create special purpose vehicles in order to obtain trademarks, in this case the sole function of Apple's special purpose vehicle was intentional misrepresentation, and an effort to fraudulently induce Proview Taiwan into a sale of the IPAD trademarks, Cal Kenney, spokesman of Proview Taiwan, said in a statement.

According to Proview Technology, it owns the Chinese rights for the iPad name. Apple, claiming trademark infringement, failed to win the suit after its case was rejected over lack of evidence.

Proview first registered the trademark name iPad in several countries, including China, as early as 2000 intending to use it for a Web-capable hand-held device, but the project was scrapped.

Among the many allegations in the U.S complaint are fraud by intentional misrepresentation, fraud by concealment, fraudulent inducement, and unfair competition. The complaint provides evidence that the December 23, 2009 agreement that Proview Taiwan entered into was fraudulently induced by the concealment and suppression of material facts by Apple's agents, and that, as a result, the 2009 agreement is void, he added.

It appears that unless Apple agrees to pay a large sum of money to settle this trademark dispute, legal actions could continue. According to the statement from the Taiwan-based company, Proview is seeking compensatory damages and disgorgement of Apple's profits from the unfair competition.

In addition, it stated that it is looking for an injunction to stop Apple's continued use of the fraudulently-obtained trademarks.

These allegations have come when Apple is expected to unveil a new version of the market-leading iPad at an event in San Francisco in March.