Lee Chyen Yee and Huang Yuntao for Reuters:

Lawyers for Apple Inc. argued for its right to use the iPad trademark in China on Wednesday, as a higher court began a crucial hearing that could result in sales of the wildly popular tablet computer being halted throughout the Chinese mainland.The Higher People’s Court of Guangzhou is hearing an appeal by the U.S. firm after a lower court ruled in favor of debt-laden Chinese tech company Proview Technology (Shenzhen), which says it owns the trademark in China.

Apple used a shell corporation to secure the iPad trademark from Proview, a financially-troubled computer peripheral maker based in Shenzhen, China. But the company claims that Apple negotiated a deal with its Taiwanese subsidiary, not the Shenzhen headquarters, and claims that Apple’s trademark is invalid in mainland China. The legal dispute has led to the iPad being pulled from store shelves in some parts of China.

If it is ultimately victorious, Proview is expected to try to negotiate a financial settlement with Apple, based on recent comments made by Proview’s chairman.