（路透社）一家中国公司正试图阻止苹果公司在中国使用iPad的名称，并且已经向这个消费电子巨头的地盘发起了攻击，在加利福尼亚州提出诉讼，指责它在购买的商标时采用了欺骗手段。
(Reuters) - A Chinese firm trying to stop Apple Inc from using the iPad name in China has launched an attack on the consumer electronics giant's home turf, filing a lawsuit in California that accuses it of employing deception when it bought the trademark.
唯冠国际控股有限公司是一家主要电脑显示器制造商，在全球金融危机中遭遇困难，他的子公司已经在中国多地起诉苹果公司，并要求在全国范围内暂停iPad的销售。
A unit of Proview International Holdings Ltd, a major computer monitor maker that fell on hard times during the global financial crisis, is already suing Apple in multiple Chinese jurisdictions and requesting that sales of iPads be suspended across the country.
上周，唯冠电子有限公司和唯冠科技有限公司在圣克拉拉县提起诉讼，由此把他们和苹果公司的法律纠纷带到了硅谷。 Last week, Proview Electronics Co Ltd and Proview Technology Co filed a lawsuit in Santa Clara County that brings their legal dispute to Silicon Valley.
一些法律专家说，在美国和中国的诉讼可能会有不同的结果，但是诉讼风波的持续发酵和双方在解决条款上的拖延可能会给苹果公司带去更多的伤害。
Some legal experts said there could be different outcomes from the U.S. and Chinese cases, but a spreading of the lawsuit and delay in coming to settlement terms could hurt Apple more.
“在美国，苹果公司将会多少有点优势，”罗思律师事务所（中国）在上海的合伙人埃利奥特·帕佩佐治说。
"In relation to the U.S., Apple is going to somewhat have a homeground advantage," said Elliot Papageorgiou, a Shanghai-based partner and executive at law firm Rouse Legal (China).
苹果公司在中国的销售量和出货量危在旦夕，尽管其首席执行官蒂姆·库克说，这仅仅是伤及表面。与此同时，负债累累的唯冠国际需要在2012年中之前拿出一个有效的救助计划，否则它面临被香港联交所停牌甚至退市。
At stake for Apple is its sales and shipments in China, where its CEO Tim Cook said it was merely scratching the surface. Debt-laden Proview International, meanwhile, needs to come up with a viable rescue plan before mid-2012 or else it faces delisting from the Hong Kong stock exchange.
“鉴于目前的时间表，苹果公司将有更大的动力去解决纠纷，仅仅因为纠纷对苹果公司出货量的影响远大于唯冠潜在所面临的退市压力。”帕佩佐治说。
"Given the current timeline, Apple would have the greater impetus to come to settlement simply because the ability to disrupt shipments is more immediate than the pressure faced by Proview and its potential delisting," said Papageorgiou.
唯冠指责苹果创造一个专门实体 - IP应用开发有限责任公司或（IPAD） - 为购买iPad商标，从而隐藏在这个问题上苹果的作用。
Proview accuses Apple of creating a special purpose entity -- IP Application Development Ltd, or IPAD -- to buy the iPad name from it, concealing Apple's role in the matter.
唯冠提交的文件中显示，苹果公司代理律师多次表示苹果公司不会与中国公司竞争，但拒绝透露为什么需要iPad商标。
In its filing, Proview alleged lawyers for IPAD repeatedly said it would not be competing with the Chinese firm, and refused to say why they needed the trademark.
这些表述被认为是 “意图诈骗，诱使原告订立协议”，唯冠称在2月17日递交的文件中请求一笔数额不详的损害赔偿。
Those representations were made "with the intent to defraud and induce the plaintiffs to enter into the agreement," Proview said in the filing dated February 17, requesting an unspecified amount of damages.
苹果公司上周五重申，苹果公司几年前已经在10个不同的国家，购买了唯冠iPad的全球商标权。同时，唯冠拒绝履行协议，一家香港法院表示在这个争端上支持美国科技巨头。
Apple on Friday reiterated its statement saying that it had bought Proview's worldwide rights to the iPad trademark in 10 different countries several years ago. It also said that Proview had refused to honor their agreement and a Hong Kong court had sided with the U.S. technology giant in the matter.
苹果公司表示，他们在中国大陆的纠纷目前仍悬而未决。
"Our case is still pending in mainland China," Apple said.
2009年达成协议的争端铰链
DISPUTE HINGES ON 2009 DEAL
一个名不见经传的亚洲公司和世界上最有价值的技术公司之间的纠纷，可以追溯到一个存在于双方在2009年达成的iPad商标转让协议中的争论。
The battle between a little-known Asian company and the world's most valuable technology corporation dates back to a disagreement over precisely what was covered in a deal for the transfer of the iPad trademark to Apple in 2009.
在中国的几个城市，如石家庄市和惠州，当局已经禁止销售的iPad，引证于法律纠纷。
Authorities in several Chinese cities, such as Shijiazhuang and Huizhou, have already banned the sale of iPads, citing the legal dispute.
唯冠坚持表示他在中国拥有iPad商标，并已在中国多地起诉苹果公司商标侵权，同时也要求法院让一些小城市的零售商停止销售苹果公司的平板电脑。
Proview, which maintains it holds the iPad trademark in China, has been suing Apple in various jurisdictions in the country for trademark infringement, while also using the courts to get retailers in some smaller cities to stop selling the tablet PCs.
主要电子零售商苏宁已经这本周恢复了iPad的网上销售。苏宁公司高管表示，公司停止销售主要原因是上周供应短缺，而不是这场官司。
Major electronics retailer Suning has resumed selling iPads online this week in China after it stopped sales last week due to a supply shortage, rather than because of the lawsuit, company executives said.
中国正在成为苹果公司一个越来越重要的市场。苹果公司仅在上一个季度在全球销售了超过15万台iPad，并试图扩大其在世界上第二大经济体的业务，以维持其快速增长的步伐。
China is becoming an increasingly pivotal market for Apple, which sold more than 15 million iPads worldwide in the last quarter alone and is trying to expand its business in the world's No. 2 economy to sustain its rip-roaring pace of growth.
苹果公司现在有76％的市场份额在中国的平板电脑行业，其次是联想集团有限公司和三星电子有限公司。市场研究公司IDC的数据显示，他们仅有10％的份额。
It now has a 76 percent market share in China's tablet PC sector, followed by Lenovo Group Ltd and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd that have a combined share of only 10 percent, data from research firm IDC showed.
中国也是iPhone和iPad的主要组装地，大部分是与台湾富士康合作。
The country is also where the majority of its iPhones and iPads are now assembled, in partnership with Taiwan's Foxconn.
上海的一家法院在本周驳回了唯冠提出中断iPad在上海销售的要求。但早些时候，在广东的上级法院做出了有利于唯冠的裁定引发了更广泛的争议。
A Shanghai court this week threw out Proview's request to halt iPad sales in the city. But the outcome of the broader dispute hinges on a higher court in Guangdong, which earlier ruled in Proview's favor.
下一场听证会将定在2月29日。唯冠的代理律师说，现在可能不会立即做出决定，这需要数周或数月的时间去达成结果。
The next hearing in that case is set for February 29. Proview lawyers said there might not be a decision immediately and it could take weeks or months before there was an outcome.
“这更加适用于双方进行调解，我认为这是最好的结局，”上海锦天城律师事务所高级合伙人，陈大卫这样说。
"It is more appropriate for both parties to mediate. I think that is the best outcome," David Chen, senior partner at Allbright Law Offices in Shanghai.
中国的商标制度是充满着“潜规则”和投机性的“商标抢注”，甚至于是世界上最大的公司以及他们高薪聘请的律师也束手无策。
China's trademark system is a minefield of murky rules and opportunistic "trademark squatters" that even the world's biggest companies and their highly-paid lawyers find hard to navigate.
法律专家说，对于希望在中国发展业务的公司有责任去了解中国商标法的运作，因为它和美国大不相同。
Legal experts say the onus is on companies looking to do business in China to understand how China's trademark law works, as it differs greatly from that of the United States.
业内高管表示，在中国采用专门实体获得商标是一个频繁的战术。
Industry executives have said employing special-purpose entities to acquire trademarks is a frequent tactic in China.
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发表于 2012-3-6 01:10
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