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Retailers in China stop Apple iPad sales

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CIOL Bureau
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BEIJING, CHINA: Chinese retailers have stopped sales of Apple's iPad as the trademark dispute between Apple and the China-based tech company Proview intensified.

Suning, the country's leading electronics seller, said on Friday it is halting sales of iPad, following similar actions by major online shopping sites like Amazon.cn and 360buy.com.

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At a press conference on Friday, Proview restated its ownership of the iPad trademark in China and asked domestic retailers to stop selling Apple's tablet computer, Shanghai Daily reported on Saturday.

Apple, which lost a court ruling in Shenzhen recently, must stop selling the iPad or pay more than 10 billion yuan ($1.59 billion) to Proview if it loses the final court rulings in China, industry insiders said.

Apple China declined to comment on Friday after a statement released earlier this week saying that Apple acquired Proview's rights to the iPad trademark in a number of countries and regions, including China's mainland.

Proview, which is deeply in debt, hopes via its lawsuits to lift the possible trademark transfer value, according to research firm Analysys International. The transfer value is expected to be more than 10 billion yuan.