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Shanghai court rejects Proview injunction against Apple

A Shanghai court has rejected Proview's appeal for a preliminary injunction of iPad sales in the city, proceedings have been suspended, pending results from a case in Guangdong.
Written by Hana Stewart-Smith, Contributor

A court in Pudong, Shanghai, has rejected Proview's appeal to get a preliminary injunction against the sales of Apple iPad tablets in the city.

The court has also decided to postpone hearings in the ongoing trademark infringement dispute for the time being.

In a statement today, the Shanghai court announced the decision to halt proceedings until results of a separate case in a Gaungdong provincial high court are revealed. No date has been set yet for further hearings.

The case in Shanghai is a trademark infringement issue. This means that if the court sides with Proview, sales of the iPad in China's biggest city by population could be stopped.

A court in Shenzen ruled against Apple last year over the ownership of the 'iPad' trademark itself.

Apple have appealed the decision, and the next hearing of that case will take place in Shenzen on February 29th.

Yesterday's proceedings have also uncovered some new issues to further complicate the dispute. Proview have revealed that both The Bank of China and Mingsheng Bank are creditors of the company, and have "controlled" it since 2009.

This news might actually benefit Apple, as the creditors could push for a settlement. Proview is unable to make agreements or sell any assets without the prior approval of their creditors, something which they claim Apple failed to understand.

Proview chairman Yang Rongshang admitted in an interview on Tuesday: "We can't make any agreements without the creditors, we are under the monitoring and control of the court."

The next big turning point for Apple will be the appeal in Shenzen at the end of the month, which could determine the ownership of the trademark itself.

Whether Apple win or lose the appeal, they may yet take further legal action against Proview.

Earlier this week lawyers from Apple threatened to sue the company over damages from defamation and "unlawful actions intended to wrongfully interfere with Apple's business and business relationships."

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