On Monday, Chinese officials seized 45 iPads in response to a trademark complaint from Proview International, the owner of the “iPad” name in China. Proview has now asked the Chinese government to block the import and export of the popular tablet, reports Bloomberg. “We are applying to customs to stop any trademark- infringing products from imports to China and also for exports,” said Roger Xie, a lawyer representing Proview. “Apple wants to postpone and continue infringement of the iPad in China.” Apple maintains that it has purchased rights to the iPad name in 10 countries from Proview, including in China. “Proview refuses to honor their agreement with Apple in China,” said Carolyn Wu, Apple’s Beijing-based spokeswoman. “Our case is still pending in mainland China.” The iPad is manufactured by Foxconn in Brazil and in China, so an export ban on the popular tablet would have significant ramifications for Apple.
