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A heated court case over the use of the iPad name in China has been held in Shanghai. The four-hour session concluded with no dates set for a judgment on the case or further hearings.
This is the second court hearing that pitted tech giant Apple against Chinese LED maker, Proview Technology over Apple's use of the iPad trademark in China.
It was convened by Shanghai's Pudong District Court early on Wednesday.
Ma Dongxiao, lawyer for Proview, said, "There were two main goals today. The first was to exchange evidence from both sides. The second was to ask the court to issue a temporary order to stop the sale of iPads in Shanghai. Apple asked the court to stop that process."
No judgment has been announced, and some lawyers predict that a settlement is very likely, rather than continuous battles in court.
Liu Chunquan, intellectual property lawyer, said, "The final solution may probably be that Apple reaches an agreement with this Proview company outside of the court. That is probably the result, because that is also the result of many international business disputes."
Shenzhen Proview Technology has filed lawsuits in several places in China, claiming ownership over the iPad name.
Apple says it bought the rights to the name in China in 2009, but Proview accuses Apple of acting dishonestly when it bought rights to the iPad name from its Taiwan affiliate.
Xie Xianghui, lawyer for Proview, said, "We feel that the trademark rights motions claimed by Apple, based on the transfer agreement reached in 2009, is not legally binding for the Shenzhen purview according to Chinese trademark laws, and is not legally effective."
Proview has requested that commercial authorities in 40 cities block iPad sales. So far, iPads have been pulled from shelves in some Chinese cities but there has been no sign of action at the national level.
Meanwhile, Apple has appealed an earlier ruling against Proview in a court in Shenzhen, in southern China's Guangdong province. The Guangdong High Court is due to hear that case on February 29.
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