Proview's suit against Apple in California tossed

A trademark infringement complaint against Apple from China-based Proview Technology has been tossed out by a California judge.

That dismissal came in a court order dated May 4, which was picked up this afternoon by The Wall Street Journal. In it, Judge Mark Pierce of the Superior Court of the State of California in Santa Clara County approved Apple's motion to dismiss the case, which the iPad-maker requested shortly after the complaint was filed.

Per the Journal, the motion to nix the case was due to an agreement between to two companies to resolve the dispute in Hong Kong.

The two companies are reportedly on the verge of reaching a settlement in a related complaint in China. Proview's case has centered on the notion that one of its subsidiaries sold the iPad trademark to Apple, but did not actually have the authority to do so.

Earlier this week, Proview's lawyer Xie Xianghui told China's government newswire Xinhua that the two companies were "having conversations" and that Apple offered a settlement. In a follow-up interview with Reuters, Proview lawyer Roger Xie said that there was "still a big gap between the two sides on the settlement amount."

Proview filed its suit against Apple in the U.S. in mid-February, claiming the company committed fraud when it acquired the iPad trademark from Proview through U.K. subsidiary IP Application Development in 2009. It accused Apple of acting "with oppression, fraud and/or malice," for not disclosing that it would be the eventual trademark holder. Apple countered by saying it purchased the rights to the name in 10 different countries.

(courtesy:cnet.com)