Proview brings the ‘iPad’ name battle to the US

Sick of Proview yet?

The bankrupt Chinese company that sold Apple the ‘IPAD’ name only to claim it was deceived by Apple’s secret IP Application Development subsidiary is now suing Apple in its own back yard, according to the WSJ.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the Superior Court of the State of California in Santa Clara County on Feb. 17, but previously unreported, claimed that Apple had committed fraud when it used a company set up by one of its law firms, called IP Application Development Ltd., to purchase the iPad trademark from Proview on Dec. 23, 2009 for 35,000 British pounds ($55,000).

Proview’s point of view?

In emails seen by The Wall Street Journal, a representative purportedly of IP Application Development told Proview that it wanted to acquire the iPad name because it was an abbreviation of its company’s title, and that its future products wouldn’t compete with Proview’s products.

Proview is bankrupt and its products look like cheap original iPad knockoffs (right). A judge in Shanghai denied Proview’s motion to ban sales of iPad in the city earlier today.