Intermediate people's court

Two 'Intermediate people's court' stories February 2012 - February 2014

Apple suing China’s patent office & Zhizhen Network Technology over Siri

Amid Apple’s push to expand its presence in China with its new deal with China Mobile, AFP reports Apple is suing the State Intellectual Property Office in China as well as Zhizhen Network Technology.

The dispute is not a new one as Zhizhen Network Technology previously sued Apple over disputes with Siri and its Xiao i Robot product, but this time the roles are reversed. Furthermore, Apple is filing suit against the patent office responsible for protecting patent rights after the agency declined to invalidate Zhizhen’s patent, according to the report.

The case will be heard on Thursday by the Beijing Number one Intermediate People’s Court, but no ruling has been announced for the case heard last July yet, so we it may be some time before this concludes.

Proview: ‘We are now preparing for negotiations with Apple’

Cash-strapped display maker Proview that sued Apple over the iPad moniker in China feels it has the Cupertino, Calif.-headquartered gadget giant right where it wants them, cornered against the wall. Just as the Intermediate People’s Court in Huizhou ruled last Friday that local distributors should stop selling iPads in China, Proview now told The Times of India it us ready to sit at the negotiating table, apparently telling Apple it has “peaceful intentions.”

The company wants money, is hoping for an out of court settlement, and it is shooting for as high as $2 billion for the I-PAD trademark in China. Legal representatives for the debt-laden company told the paper Tuesday:

We are now preparing for negotiations. The court cases will continue until we reach an agreement.

A court in Shanghai will begin hearings tomorrow on whether Proview’s claims have any merit and the ruling could take months, Reuters reported. Whether or not Proview’s strategy works, that is anyone’s guess at this point. Apple is even threatening to sue Proview over “defamatory statements.” This highlights Apple’s unwillingness to engage in trademark licensing talks with the Chinese firm that recently filed for bankruptcy…

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