With the trademark dispute between Apple and Proview Technology - the bankrupt maker of computer displays - showing further signs of escalation, the sales of the iPad have been halted in a second Chinese city, Xuzhou.

According to reports, authorities in Xuzhou - a city in coastal Jiangsu Province, and having a population of 1.8 million - have started confiscating iPads from local retailers. The seizures of the Apple tablet are essentially a consequence of a December ruling in which a court in Shenzhen denied Apple's claims of the company owning the `iPad' trademark in China.

Revealing that the iPad is under "temporary impoundment" from retailers in Xuzhou, Ma Dongxiao, a lawyer for Proview as well as its creditors, said that the state-owned CCTV television have confirmed the confiscation of the tablet in the city.

Going by the earlier news reports on Monday, nearly 45 iPads had been seized from retail outlets in Shijiazhuang, which is the capital of Hebei Province, and is around 265 kilometers southwest of Beijing. In addition, the Chinese microblogging service Sina Weibo has also reported that some other retailers have also removed iPads from displays in their stores.

Meanwhile, with Ma Dongxiao further disclosing the Proview has also made a filing with the General Administration of Customs in China, apparently for seeking a potential ban on the export of iPads, it is clear that the iPad seizures and the Proview filing underscore the warning that Proview could wreck havoc if Apple refuses to settle the trademark scuffle by paying a big settlement fee!