Apple Files Lawsuit Against White iPhone Kid | Hacker News Reader

Apple Files Lawsuit Against White iPhone Kid

betabeat.com

29 pointsbproper29 comments

Apple filed suit to put on record that it's illegal to sell (and profit from) white iPhones that customers might confuse with the official ones. But then they appear to have settled out of court with the family, making this a non-story. Quote:

"Apple did, however, also file a voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit at the same time, suggesting that a settlement has may have been reached, although Apple's request for dismissal without prejudice means that the company reserves the right to refile the claim at some point in the future."

Source: http://www.macrumors.com/2011/05/26/apple-files-lawsuit-agai...

I was really disheartened to read this story, but now you point out it’s a non-issue and essentially that the article is misleading to the point of libel. Flagged this story.

He sold a product with the trademarked Apple logo on it without authorization from Apple, and they're protecting their trademark. How is this a story?

Is there a trademark exception for being a kid? No.

Is there a trademark exception for "same shape as different colored component of product"? No.

Now, had he sold a white case without the logo, that would be a totally different story...

He stopped when they told him to. He complied with their requests, and now they're suing him and his parents. They aren't just protecting their trademark at this point, they're going for blood.

If it were acceptable to infringe a trademark for a few months and make $130k, and the only consequence was being forced to stop, a lot of people would think (correctly) that doing so is a profitable activity. Apple is demonstrating that it is not.

He never claimed to be an official Apple retailer or to be endorsed by the company, which is the protection afforded by a trademark.

The goods were allegedly Apple branded without authorization, hence counterfeit.

I've no idea about the exact legal situation, and I would assume that what he did was technically illegal (and would have before I heard of this story).

That said, I'm not sure his products can be described as "counterfeit", because at no point did he claim they were official Apple products or mislead customers in any way. Absolutely everyone who bought a case off him will have known that it was a non-Apple product designed to enhance the aesthetics of an Apple product.

(Again, without knowing about the laws, perhaps legally this is classed as "counterfeit" anyway, but not, in opinion, outside of a legal situation.)

Having the Apple trademark on them is what makes them counterfeit.

He probably would have gotten away with it if he had changed the labels, but I doubt that was technically feasible anyway.

There is a legal case involving a major tech company, that makes it news by definition. It doesn't have to be a case of Apple being morally wrong in order for it to be news.

On the other hand, you could argue it's not interesting enough to be worth writing - but the reason it's of interest is because this kid was of interest when he found a clever way to make money in the tech area, plus any story involving a company such as Apple and a legal case is sexy, partly because it offers an insight into how they might approach other legal issues in the future.

Apple did, however, also file a voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit at the same time, suggesting that a settlement has may have been reached, although Apple's request for dismissal without prejudice means that the company reserves the right to refile the claim at some point in the future. -- http://www.macrumors.com/2011/05/26/apple-files-lawsuit-agai...

Note: This is the article that Betabeat itself links to.

Is Woz on Apple's board? Wouldn't it be inappropriate for him to help Fei if he is?

No he is not.

http://www.apple.com/pr/bios/bod.html

Thanks for that link. I'm surprised at who's on that board. CEO of Avon? Seems pretty random.

They are legally required to have some number of independent directors. This is to prevent executive backscratching, self-dealing, etc. The CEO of Avon is probably on the board precisely because it's kind of random. Their job is to read the financials and keep an eye on the board members that have experience in the industry.

Woz has a habit of saying things that go against the official Apple line, be it praising competitors or sounding off on the "death grip" problem. He generally walks to the beat of his own drummer.

Woz is still nominally a regular Apple employee - they pay him a very small paycheck so he can keep the perks of "working for Apple" but he doesn't have any assigned duties. He's mostly a goodwill ambassador.

"I never resigned from Apple, and I still receive a small paycheck because I want to be an employee forever." source: http://www.woz.org/letters/general/53.html

I think it will be interesting to see if he is tried as an adult or not. Seems a bit odd, someone his age has the potential for a lesser sentence had he committed a violent crime, but perhaps not for copyright infringement. Either way, I think the MPAA/RIAA proved legally roughing up kids isn't the best habit to have.

This is a trademark infringement suit, not a criminal trial. (This means he is not being "tried" or "sentenced" and it's not like he's risking jail time.)

Update: It actually is possible for willful trademark infringement to lead to changes of "criminal counterfeiting" although this particular case was a civil suit brought by Apple, not a criminal case brought by the state.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/US_Trademark_Law#Criminal_count...

ah, I apologize, I didn't realize there was a difference when it came to people under 18. Still seems a bit odd they would cut kids slack for one, but not the other.

Come on.. cut the kid a break. If you wanna punish him, take his profits, put it in some kind of trust fund or education fund for him and win some PR points while you're at it.

Sounds like that was what the kid was doing with it -

"Since shutting down whiteiPhone4now.com, Lam has been working on a startup, similarinterests.org, a social web application for connecting users with shared likes. “I’m very thankful,” he said of the money he made on the iPhones. “For months I was struggling for an idea that would bootstrap my first startup and help pay for college.”"

Maybe they did, who knows? Apple doesn't need the money, but they do need to set an example for counterfeiters. Maybe they went easy on the kid in exchange for his theatrical cooperation. Or maybe they cleaned him out, I dunno.

That's pretty cold and heartless. I understand defending your trademarks and all, but beating a 9 yr old into the ground AFTER he complies with everything you asked is too much. ALL his profits? Ugh. He never pretended to be Apple and it was very clear that they weren't official Apple products.

he's 17

Sick to see apple following sony in suing a hacker - in this case hacker in cutting their supply chain.

Irony is Jobs and Woz were known to have hacked the telephone system. Jobs accepted it as his start, his interest into getting into electronics and roots of apple.

Terribly misinformed comment. First of all, he's is definitely not a 9 year old. He's 17. Also this is one of the least objective stories I've seen on HN in a while. It makes no mention of Apple withdrawing the suit upon successful settlement.

1. The lawsuit was filed and dismissed at the same day, all by the plaintiff, Apple.

2. The kid is 17.

3. The panels were Apple's components, just faulty ones that should never be released to the public.

4. Don't want be sued? Don't infringe other's lawful right. Want live like a true pirate? Prepare to get shot at. All is fair game.

My mistake. I see where I got 9 from.

So... Yeah, not as cold and heartless as I thought then. By 17, he should be able to understand trademarks and whatnot.

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