Apple settles Proview trademark dispute for $60 million

Apple is never too far from the front line when it comes to trademark and patent disputes in the world of consumer electronics. Amidst ongoing legal tussles with Samsung and other handset rivals, the Huffington Post reports that Apple have come to an important $60 million settlement with Chinese monitor makers Proview.

The dispute was over the ‘iPad’ name, which Apple claims to have bought the rights for from Proview in 2009. Chinese courts, however, argued that the rights in China were never transferred.

Proview, who have fallen on hard times recently, initially acquired the trademark for a mere $55,000 in 2009, and earlier in the year rejected Apple’s settlement offer of $16 million for it. While $60 million is a large sum by comparison, it’s much less than the $400 million that Proview originally aimed to extract from Apple. Incidentally, Proview is rumoured to owe around that amount to its creditors.

The settlement marks an important forward step for Apple as they aim to bring their flagship iPad 3 to China. Apple have steadily been granted the necessary regulatory permits over the past few months, and getting the Proview settlement out of the way brings them one step closer to  getting a foothold in the lucrative Chinese market.