The hotly contested legal battle between Proview and Apple over the iPad name may soon start moving towards a conclusion.

Proview today said that the company is moving towards talks with Apple over the iPad name dispute. I’m sure both Apple and Proview are hoping to reach a settlement to not have this drag out any longer than it needs to.

As we reported previously, Proview claimed to own the iPad name in China. The company argued that when Apple bought the iPad trademark, the iPad maker never bought their right to the trademark so the iPad was infringing on their copyright in China.

The case got a lot more interesting when a Chinese court ruled in Proview’s favor. Then Proview last week announced their intentions to bring a lawsuit against Apple in the U.S. to the tune of $2 billion in damages.

Xie Xianghui, Proview’s lawyer, said the company is preparing for negotiations, but will still pursue their current court battles until the two companies can reach an agreement according to the AFP.

Analysts predict that Apple will just choose to settle instead of pursuing what could turn out to be a lengthy and costly legal battle. Considering that Apple is trading near and above $500 a share these days, I’m pretty sure they can take a $2 billion hit to preserve their immensely successful iPad business.

It’s now more important than ever for Apple to settle with iPad 3 rumors suggesting the device will launch in March. If Proview is granted an injunction, than all iPad 3 shipments to the U.S. would be halted as those shipments would not be allowed to leave China.

Apple could spit in the face of reason and be looking for a fight, however, with the company reportedly sending a threatening letter to Proview. Apple reportedly threatened legal action against Proview over “defamatory statements and unlawful actions.”

It remains to be seen how all of this is going to play out. We’ll keep you updated with any new developments in one of the most interesting trademark disputes of our time.

[Source: AFP]