Apple foe Proview finds itself sued by own legal counsel
Grandall Law Firm, which represented the Chinese company in its action over the iPad trademark, sues for its 4 percent of the $60 million settlement.
Proview, the Chinese company that sued Apple over the iPad trademark, is on the receiving end of a lawsuit from its own lawyers.
The Grandall Law Firm is suing Proview for its 4 percent commission on Apple's $60 million settlement, about $2.5 million, according to a Sina Tech report.
Proview founder Yang Rongshan characterized Grandall's lawsuit as "nonsense," according to the report. He claimed that Proview is not currently under "normal operations" and should not be bound by the terms of its obligation to Grandall.
The lawsuit comes less than a month after Apple settled its dispute over ownership of the name that graces its line of wildly popular tablets. Proview had filed numerous lawsuits in China and even the U.S. that sought to stop Apple from using the iPad trademark on its products and keep the iPad off retailer shelves. Apple accused Proview "misleading" Chinese courts by tricking it into signing a carefully crafted agreement in 2009 that has raised questions over the trademark's rightful owner in China.
However, while Proview was battling Apple over the trademark, it was also fighting to stay in business. Taiwan-based Fubon Insurance, looking to recoup millions in outstanding debt, filed an application in March to declare Proview bankrupt and have its assets liquidated.