SHANGHAI: Apple has paid $60 million to end a dispute over who could use the iPad name in China, a court said on Monday, giving the US tech giant more certainty in selling its tablet computer in the Chinese market.

Apple paid the sum last week to settle its long-running legal battle with Chinese computer maker Shenzhen Proview Technology, the High Court of the southern province of Guangdong said in a statement. “This means that the dispute between Apple and Shenzhen Proview over the rights to the iPad brand is resolved in a satisfactory manner,” said the statement posted on the court's website.

The amount paid by Apple was well below the $400 million demanded by the Chinese firm. Both Proview, based in the southern city of Shenzhen, and Apple had claimed ownership of the Chinese rights to the “iPad” trademark.—AFP