Apple legal shuts down iPhone clone sellers – is Psystar next?
Redferret reports that Apple’s legal team has been shutting down UK distributors who have been selling Chinese iPhone clones, the most recent of which is the company Digital Playworld. DP’s managing director Simon Rimmer claims Apple “came at me all guns blazing, big bully boy tactics” .
Above: video of China’s C-002 HiPhone. Gee, I don’t see what infringement Apple was complaining about… that phone clearly has a removable battery!
According to Mr. Rimmer, the terms of his settlement have left him more or less penniless:
“In order to settle out of court I had to take several undertakings, which
included amongst other things: • Remove all said items from my site (or any other sites) and stop selling them.• Sign an oath that I would not offer to sell, market, import or stock ANY products which are strikingly similar in design to Apple’s registered designs.
• Deliver to Apple’s legal team all remaining products in my possession, suppliers details, prices paid for them, numbers imported, marketed and sold.
• I had to pay a contribution to their legal expenses AND damages.
So after all the costs and losing stock, I am as good as broke now!â€
Wow, I wonder if Apple made him pay for shipping the clones to Cupertino as well.
So, does this news mean Psystar, who last week began selling Mac clones has something to worry about? Probably. While the iPhone clones were a clearer case of rights violations (some models even had Apple’s logo on the from crying out loud) Psystar is likely in the same boat as Digital Playworld in that they are both small companies who likely could not afford a long legal battle with Apple, even if they could win such a conflict. Looks like if you want a piece of history, you better place your Psystar order quick.
[via Insanely Great Mac]
I agree Apple should have shut down the sale of clones, but Psystar should have more of a case. of course, whether they could afford to defend themselves is another matter.
Man, it sucks that Apple has to wait until the iPhone clones hit the “civilized” world before they can go after them. They should be able to shut them down IN CHINA before they even make it to the UK. I can’t believe China got the Olympics.
🙁
the HiPhone Rimmer got busted for was probably even made at the same factory that the Apple iPhones are made, that is a very common practice over there. When i was sales manager for a pro audio company we found our microphones we had built in China were being sold to other suppliers with a different name. YOU CAN NOT TRUST THE CHINESE
he deserve it. I won;t cry.
loser!
I wouldn’t order anything from Psystar. They have been reported as a scam site by numerous sources including Slashdot.
Yes, no one cry for Mr. Rimmer. He should have known what he was doing was not legal. He took a bet, and not surprisingly lost it.
Apple won’t be able to do anything to Psystar if they ship their computer with Linux and let users install OS X for themselves. Mr. Rimmer’s situation is unfortunate, but exactly what did he think would happen when he started selling a blatant ripoff of the iPhone?
i was wondering about these china phones for a while now and out of curiosity started googling a bit to find out more.
please excuse my poor english, it is not my native tongue. still, i want to give my 10 cents…
i do agree that counterfit products, regardless of what they may be, do damage the reputation of the original manufacturer and defraud the buyer.
clones, however, like the many look alikes of the iphone you can find all over the net, are a differnt thing. just think about it for a sec. in how many differnt designs and shapes can you make a cellphone ? dont they look pretty much the same altogether ? Or even better example: laptops – i been using laptops now for a decade, many different models from different manufacturers. If i go to a store and would have to pick one with the brand covered – i would be lost. i could not tell which one is which. Dont they look all alike ?
Furthermore, to go back to the iphone clones, i dont think that anybody will buy a cect or sciphone or whatever they are called and think that he or she is actually buying a apple product. Anybody interested in a new phone will realise that you can not buy an iphone for 150 bucks.
no, i think that its just , again, the big vs. the small- the rich and powerful vs. the little guys who are trying to make a buck – not by defrauding or cheating – just by supplying whats in demand -.
If Apple or any other company doesnt like the idea of a chinese manufacturer making clones of their products – again, clones, not counterfit – then they should go after them and not after the people who keep the economy going – im pretty sure Mr. Rimmer did pay his taxes, kept people employed etc.
I dont see justice in that .
At last – what about lightbulbs ? If i start a lightbulb company now do i need to worry about GE or Phillips coming after me if they actually light up when you flip the switch ? That would be a very close similarity, would it not ?