Apple iPad orders have been canceled in many more Chinese cities after another legal battle started between a local technology firm and the American IT giant, says Reuters. Authorities asked retailers in China to remove the popular iPad tablet from their shelves because Apple may no longer be entitled to sell its products in these Chinese cities.
The first to cancel orders were two major shopping malls set in the Xujiahui district of Shanghai. A similar situation took place in the Xuzhou city of the Jiangsu province, as well as the city of Qingdao in Shandong province. Reporters at Reuters have tried to contact the spokespersons of the stores, but none of them was available for discussions. The Qingdao commerce department was the only one that agreed to speak, but they denied banning the iPad sales.
The spokesperson further stated that the Chinese government does not get involved in the management of the local companies. It is up to retailers whether they want to sell Apple’s iPads or not. Despite these declarations, other stores were prevented from selling the tablet a few days ago, in Shijiazhuang, a city near Beijing.
Reporters have managed to find out that the Proview International Holdings unit working in China, that is, Proview Technology (Shenzhen) Co Ltd asked authorities to constrain retailers in 30 cities to stop the sales of the Apple iPad. No information has been provided in relation to the cause of the legal battle taking place between the two technological companies.
Amazon is one of the companies that no longer sell the iPad tablet through their online shops. The spokespersons, however, reassured everyone that the device was not available for sale because of a supply shortage. The e-commerce company has nothing to do with the trademark lawsuit.
The legal representatives of the Proview Technology (Shenzhen) Co Ltd. declared on Tuesday that the technological firm will seek to ban the iPad exports from mainland China. They even confirmed that the local authorities ordered retailers to stop selling the Apple device.
This is not the first legal battle that Apple is having with other companies. In fact, the IT giant is involved in numerous disputes with its rival, Samsung.
