A new report claims Amazon removed the iPad from its Chinese website at Apple's request because it is not an authorized reseller, not because of pressure from a high-profile ongoing trademark dispute between Apple and Proview.
After Apple's iPad disappeared from Amazon.cn earlier this week, some were quick to speculate that the move was connected to a legal battle between Apple and Proview over the iPad trademark in China.
However, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that Apple had requested Amazon China stop selling the iPad because it lacked the proper authorization to offer the device. According to the source, the Cupertino, Calif., iPad maker had been working with Amazon for weeks to have the listings taking down.The tipster went on to clarify that the issue was separate from the escalating disagreement between Apple and Proview that came to a head earlier this week. But, it remains unclear whether the removal of iPad listings from Chinese retailer Suning that also occurred this week is related to that lawsuit.
After suing Apple for trademark infringement, Proview succeeded in convincing some mainland authorities to confiscate iPads in smaller cities throughout Beijing beginning last week.
Apple maintains that it purchased the Chinese rights to the iPad mark in a multi-country deal several years ago. “Proview refuses to honor their agreement with Apple in China,” said spokeswoman Carolyn Wu.
A previously unpublished court ruling from last July showed that the High Court of Hong Kong sided with Apple on the matter and demanded Proview transfer the trademark over to Apple.
At the time of the removal, an Amazon China spokesperson indicated that the iPad had been removed at Apple's request rather than as a result of actions associated with the trademark dispute, but Apple's reasons for the request were unknown.
The Wall Street Journal now reports that Apple did indeed request that Amazon China remove the iPad from sale, simply due to Amazon China not being an officially authorized retailer.
The Cupertino, Calif., consumer electronics giant asked Amazon in China to stop selling iPads because it is not an authorized reseller, according to people familiar with the matter. Amazon has since removed iPads offered by other resellers on its Chinese website as well.
The report's sources indicate that the move was not specifically related to the ongoing trademark dispute, although the timing suggests that it perhaps did play some role in the decision, if only by spurring Apple to reassess iPad distribution in China and tie up any loose ends.
While Chinese courts have so far ruled against Apple in the trademark dispute with Proview Technology, Apple has noted that it did win a court case on the issue in Hong Kong last year. The Wall Street Journal's report offers some additional details on that decision, which held that Proview and its subsidiaries had conspired against Apple in a scheme to extract more money from Apple.
The court said, in its findings, that Proview, its subsidiaries and at least one other company had combined together "with the common intention of injuring Apple," by breaching the agreement over the iPad name. The court, calling the event a conspiracy, further said Proview had "attempted to exploit the situation as a business opportunity," by asking for money.
"It is accordingly important that (Apple) is able to secure and obtain the China trademarks," the court wrote in its decision.
