Investigators started seizing iPads on Thursday in Shijiazhuang, southwest of Beijing, after receiving letters from Shenzhen Proview, an official of the economic investigation unit of the city’s Xinhua district, told “ABC News.”
“All the Apple iPads in the big shopping malls and supermarkets have been taken off shelves in Xinhua district,” he added. The official wouldn’t say how many devices had been seized or the number of retailers affected.
Apple has accused Shenzhen Proview of infringing its iPad trademark and filed a lawsuit to that affect last year. However, in December 2011, the Intermediate People’s Court in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen rejected Apple’s complaint against Proview Technology (Shenzhen). The court said Proview lawfully registered the iPad trademark as long ago as 2000 for products in a number of countries, including China.