蘋果商標爭端二審在中國開庭大綱

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.中國法庭星期三聽取蘋果公司在iPad商標爭端上訴中的有關辯詞。有關蘋果公司備受歡迎的平板電腦產品的這起訴訟引發高度關注。預計，廣東省高級人民法院的法官將宣佈判決結果的日期。判決將決定蘋果公司和總部設在臺灣的信息技術企業唯冠公司誰將擁有對中國境內銷售的產品使用iPad名稱的權利。此案對雙方都事關重大，蘋果是世界上最具效益的公司之一，而唯冠這家一度強盛的計算機顯示器生產廠家現在瀕臨破產。

斯坦·艾布拉姆斯是一名居住在北京的律師，也是中央財經大學的外國投資和知識產權法教授。他說，雖然蘋果本可以更加謹慎從而避免訴訟，但唯冠也犯了一些錯誤。從2001年到2004年，唯冠通過臺灣唯冠在歐洲和其他六個市場註冊iPad商標。深圳唯冠在中國註冊了同一商標。蘋果公司在準備推出iPad時，從唯冠購買了“全球”iPad商標，並認爲此舉涵蓋了中國的iPad商標。此後，唯冠提出不同解釋，深圳一家法院最近判定蘋果公司在中國不擁有iPad商標權。目前蘋果公司正就這一判決提出上訴。