Apple Gets Serious About Stopping Knockoff Products, This Time In New York
August 19, 2011
The next time you visit the Chinatown section of Queens, New York, be on the lookout for fake Apple products. In fact, the situation has gotten so bad that Apple has now filed court papers accusing some of selling knockoff iPhone/iPod touch and iPad accessories and demanding that the practice is stopped, according to Reuters.
Counterfeit Apple products are nothing new. In fact, it was earlier we alerted you to entire stores in China claiming to be official Apple Stores, but really weren't. In this latest report, Apple is going after a company called Apple Story, and is accusing it of selling fake products in at least two stores in the Borough of Queens.
According to the report, the suspected products all carried what looked like official Apple logos. As such, on July 27, Apple executed several ex parte seizure warrants -- allowing the company to seize the items.
Apple Story is said to be complying with the court order, which was made public this Thursday, and as such is hoping to finalize an agreement with Apple to end the lawsuit.
The parties are moving toward an agreement to settle the case, court records show, but nothing has been finalized. In addition to an agreement to stop counterfeiting goods, Apple is seeking a complete list of all individuals or entities who either purchased or sold counterfeit products, an order to destroy any remaining counterfeit products and triple monetary damages.Apple is also hoping the judge on the case will agree with its demand Apple Story change its name. This story suggests Apple is getting serious about stopping others from selling pirated or knockoff items, in an attempt to protect its image. On this, we agree with Apple's moves.
