Applehas agreed to pay $60m to settle a trademark dispute with Proview Technology (Shenzhen), which has spent the past two years trying to block the sale of the iPad in China, a market that has underpinned Apple’s rapid international expansion.

The US group agreed to settle with the mainland division of Proview International, a Hong Kong-listed technology group, in return for ownership of the iPad trademark in China, according to a statement by the Higher People’s Court of Guangdong. The deal took effect on Monday.

Apple is preparing to launch the iPad 3 in China, with local regulators giving their approval in March for the device to go on sale in the country in spite of the lawsuit with Proview Shenzhen. Apple has yet to announce the launch date.