China has banned the use of the name "iPad"

A Chinese court has dismissed Apple's lawsuit against a local company that infringed the corporation's rights to the iPad brand.

Apple filed a lawsuit to protect its iPad trademark in a Shenzhen court. The lawsuit was filed against a local company, Proview Technology, which registered the trademark back in 2000.

However, the right to use the iPad trademark is crucial for Apple. Apple is currently actively opening its branded stores in various regions of China, and ownership of the iPad trademark by another company could mean a decline in sales for Apple.

A few weeks ago, Proview filed a countersuit against Apple for infringing its iPad trademark and demanding 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in damages.

Recently, American journalists and bloggers discovered a number of fake Apple Stores in China.