Bitter news for Apple (AAPL) out of China this morning as China’s Hebei Youth Daily says iPads are being snatched from the shelves by Chinese authorities after Chinese company Proview took legal action against Apple in Shanghai and Beijing. Proview owns the iPad trademark in China, and a Chinese court recently rejected Apple’s claim that Proview had infringed on Apple’s patent. So far, it appears that just one city, Shijiazhuang, has been directly affected. Some iPads have reportedly been confiscated and others have been removed from the shelves by retailers who are trying to hide them before the authorities take them.
Beijing-based law professor Stan Abrams says tablets are also being removed from e-stores, and believes they could start disappearing from other parts of China as well. He thinks Proview may have a very good case against Apple, but also suggests that the Cupertino, Calif.-based company may eventually be able to buy the iPad’s way back into China.
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Read more: http://www.chinahearsay.com/down-goes-ipad/#ixzz1mHerocZT