Sometimes people joke that political science degrees won’t lead to lucrative careers. However, somewhere there sits a small group of Apple employees who may be primed to write a really big check because someone didn’t stay very current on world events. Meanwhile, things just got real down under as Apple unloads on Samsung in Australia.
Who owns the name iPad in China? Well, which China do you mean? How many patents can you jam into one lawsuit, anyway? Cue the dun dun and let's sit down to another week of Law & Apple, Pacific island style.
Last October we told you about Proview Electronics, a display manufacturer that originally owned the iPad trademark and sold it to IP Application Development in 2006 for $51,000. Trouble is, Proview did not realize the patent was sold to a shell company controlled by Apple. It must have been salt in the wound watching iPad sales shatter expectations, so Proview sued Apple last fall, seeking $1.6 billion in damages.
Apparently, IP Application believed that buying the trademark from Proview Taipei in the Republic of China (Taiwan) meant control of the iPad trademark in China, and overlooked a similar trademark held by Proview Shenzhen in the People's Republic of China (China). Turns out those are separate patents, owned by separate subsidiaries of Proview, operating in what most of the world views as separate countries. Ironically, China views them as the same country, yet it was a Chinese court that ruled in favor of Proview last December, and Apple has appealed.
So... we needed two patents, then? Whoops.
According to Proview’s lawyer Xie Xianghui, the appeal is about to be dismissed, and the Xicheng district court in Beijing stands ready to "slap Apple with a 240 million yuan ($38 million) fine." Xie also claims that Proview is seeking an injunction on sales and marketing of the iPad in China, as well as "demanding an apology" from Cupertino. According to AppleInsider, Proview has also has filed separate lawsuits against Apple's authorized Chinese retailers and stores in local courts. If the appeal does go south for Apple, this situation may end up being one very expensive political science lesson.
All of the Apple and Samsung legal drama we’ve been covering in Australia has so far centered around three claims by Cupertino of patent infringement. Last Friday, Apple launched a shock-and-awe campaign down under and added 275 patent infringement claims against Samsung. Originally focused in Australian court on just the Samsung Galaxy 10.1, the suit now includes up to ten different Samsung devices, including some that have not launched yet.
According to The Next Web, Samsung’s lead lawyer Neil Young was given only days notice about the expanded claim, and stated his company would not be able to file a defense against the claim until mid-May.
We're coming after your whole family now, Galaxy.
Justice Annabelle Bennett of the Federal Court of Australia has stated she is eager to settle all cases between Apple and Samsung before the end of the year. Both Apple and Samsung will present plans for hearing dates to Judge Bennett next week. With 278 infringement claims to settle, it looks like everyone has their work cut out for them now.
Adrian writes the weekly Law & Apple column for MacLife.com. Follow him on Twitter, subscribe to him on Facebook.
