Chinese court says Apple can sell iPads in Shanghai: Report

SHANGHAI: A Shanghai court has rejected a request by a Chinese technology firm that the sale of Apple Inc's iPads be halted across the affluent Chinese city, a source with direct knowledge of the ruling told Reuters on Thursday.

The company, Proview Technology (Shenzhen), had been seeking the injunction against Apple as part of its battle with the US tech giant over the iPad trademark in China.

The Shanghai Pudong New Area People's Court ruled in Apple's favour after a hearing on Wednesday, the source said, confirming a report by the website of local newspaper Xinmin Evening News.

Electronics firm Proview Technology (Shenzhen) says it owns the Chinese rights to the "iPad" trademark and had sought to block sales of Apple's iconic tablet computer in China as well as imports and exports of the device.

Apple last year took the firm to a Chinese court, claiming trademark infringement, but the court ruled the US company lacked "supporting facts and evidence" for its claim.

In another lawsuit, a Chinese court last week ordered an electronics chain store to stop selling Apple iPads at a branch in the southern city of Huizhou, according to the GH Law Firm which represented Proview.

Proview, based in China's southern boomtown of Shenzhen, has also filed complaints with local governments in several Chinese cities, resulting in seizures of iPads in at least two places.

The Taiwan affiliate of Proview Technology (Shenzhen) registered "iPad" as a trademark in several countries including China as early as 2000 -- years before Apple began selling the product.

The US giant subsequently bought the rights for the global trademark, but Proview Technology (Shenzhen) claims its Taiwan affiliate had no right to sell the Chinese rights.

Both the companies are units of Hong Kong-listed Proview International Holdings, whose shares have been suspended from trading since August 2010.