The Guangdong High People’s Court in China said that Apple has reached an agreement with Proview Technology to pay $60m to end a long running trademark dispute between the two sides.
In February 2012, the court began hearing Apple’s appeal of a ruling against its right to use the iPad name in China.
A statement from the Guangdong High People’s Court, which was mediating the settlement has announced that the iPad dispute has ended.
"Apple Inc. has transferred $60 million to the account of the Guangdong High Court as requested in the mediation letter."
The lawsuit has threatened Apple’s growth in an important market like China as it had hampered some sales and delayed the release of the new iPad in the country.
The amount is significantly higher than the $55,000 Apple claimed it paid to buy the global rights to the "iPad" name from Proview’s Taiwanese affiliate in 2009 which it had registered in EU and six other markets between 2000 and 2004, the Associated Press reported.
Proview had claimed that it owned the rights to the iPad name in the Chinese market after registering it in 2000 and that its affiliate did not have the authority to sell the Chinese trademark.
Accusing Apple of trademark infringement in October 2010, Proview also asked for a ban on the product sales in Shanghai though that was rejected by the courts.
Apple has reportedly offered $16m in May, much less than the $400m Proview was seeking, in a settlement concerning the rights.
Proview is rumored to allegedly owe more than $400m to its creditors, which include eight Chinese banks.
With the conclusion of the legal dispute with Proview, Apple could proceed with releasing its third-generation iPad in China, its second-biggest market after the US.
In October 2011, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that China accounted for 16% of the company’s fourth-quarter sales at $4.5bn.
