The following is an excerpt from ibtimes.com Staff Reporter | July 2, 2012 | ibtimes.com |
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has settled a long-running dispute with
(Hong Kong: 0334) over the iPad name. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company will pay $60 million for ownership of the iPad trademark in China, opening sales of the product to the Chinese market, Apple’s most profitable after the U.S.
“Apple wants to buy its way into the Chinese market, while Proview wants to use the money to cover its debts,” which allegedly exceed $400 million, Li Xiaoning, a Guangdong-based lawyer familiar with the case, told the Xinhua news agency. “It is a good deal for both of them.”
For Apple, a company whose market capitalization Monday was $552.6 billion and whose annual revenue of $108 billion exceeds the GDP of more than 160 different countries, the $60 million settlement will hardly make a dent on the company financially. Apple’s cash and investments exceed $110 billion. But, as PC World pointed out, the suit could set a dangerous precedent that would encourage “trademark trolls” looking to make quick cash from the world’s most powerful brands.
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