苹果商标争端二审在中国开庭大纲

A Chinese court Wednesday heard arguments in Apple's appeal in the high profile “iPad” trademark lawsuit over its blockbuster tablet computer. Judges with the Guangdong high court are expected to announce the date for their decision whether Apple or the Taiwan-based IT company Proview has the rights to use the iPad name on devices sold in China. The case has high stakes for both Apple -- one of the world’s most profitable companies -- and Proview Electronics, a once-strong computer display manufacturer that now is on the verge of bankruptcy.

Stan Abrams, a Beijing based lawyer and professor of foreign investment and intellectual property law at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said that while Apple could have avoided the suit by being more careful, Proview has also made mistakes. Between 2001 and 2004 Proview registered an iPad trademark in Europe and six other markets through its flagship company, Proview Taiwan. The group's largest operation, Proview Shenzhen, registered the trademark for the name within China. In preparing for the launch of the iPad, Apple bought the “global” iPad trademark from Proview, a portfolio that the U.S. company believed included the Chinese trademarks. Proview has since claimed to the contrary, and a Shenzhen court recently agreed that Apple does not own the rights to the name within China. Apple is now appealing that decision.中国法庭星期三听取苹果公司在iPad商标争端上诉中的有关辩词。有关苹果公司备受欢迎的平板电脑产品的这起诉讼引发高度关注。预计，广东省高级人民法院的法官将宣布判决结果的日期。判决将决定苹果公司和总部设在台湾的信息技术企业唯冠公司谁将拥有对中国境内销售的产品使用iPad名称的权利。此案对双方都事关重大，苹果是世界上最具效益的公司之一，而唯冠这家一度强盛的计算机显示器生产厂家现在濒临破产。

斯坦·艾布拉姆斯是一名居住在北京的律师，也是中央财经大学的外国投资和知识产权法教授。他说，虽然苹果本可以更加谨慎从而避免诉讼，但唯冠也犯了一些错误。从2001年到2004年，唯冠通过台湾唯冠在欧洲和其他六个市场注册iPad商标。深圳唯冠在中国注册了同一商标。苹果公司在准备推出iPad时，从唯冠购买了“全球”iPad商标，并认为此举涵盖了中国的iPad商标。此后，唯冠提出不同解释，深圳一家法院最近判定苹果公司在中国不拥有iPad商标权。目前苹果公司正就这一判决提出上诉。