Josh OngApple sued accessory maker EForCity and several other related companies in July 2010, with the complaint that many of the products from the companies "are of inferior quality and reliability, raising significant concerns over compatibility with and damage to Apple’s products."
In the suit, Apple alleged that the companies had violated Apple's patents and exposed the iPod maker to liability from an implied endorsement.
As reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel has ruled that the lawsuit can proceed.
EForCity had argued that the court should remove allegations that were “redundant, immaterial, impertinent or scandalous.†In its complaint, Apple had included comments from a dissatisfied user of one of the allegedly infringing products.
Though the court agreed with EForCity's argument and removed the remarks from the record, the infringement case is still being allowed to continue.
Apple has often relied on legal means to protect its brand and ensure that accessories for its products meet a certain standard. The company sued the maker of the HyperMac line of accessories last year over alleged patent violations.
HyperMac parent company Sanho subsequently announced that it would cease selling MacBook charging cables, which were advertised as using recycled MagSafe connectors for "maximum compatibility." The company also changed the brand name from 'HyperMac' to 'HyperJuice' as a result of ongoing licensing negotiations with Apple.
Wesley Hilliard
Charles Martin
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
13 Comments
Just so many people to sue!
No mention of how they were falsely claiming "Made for ipod" ? Or was that simply never the case?
A high quality iPod (iPhone / iPad) cable from Daiso (Japan) which does not break nor wear like the original cable, only costs 100 yen (~$1.2), while some Chinese-made crappy cables often asks for $3-4. It just depends on whether you can find the right 3rd party cable or not.
I think it's consumers' choice and risk to buy accessories for their gears.
So Toyota now can sue car mattress maker
Again patent law in US is for "sue & profit" not innovation
Toyota will sue any parts maker who advertise their part as Toyota approved parts without getting an official approval first.
It is vital for Apple to sue these terrible companies.
Otherwise apple might lose the ability to charge $120 for for a replacement power adapter, $30 for a mini-displayport adaptor, $70 for an airplane power adaptor $30 for an iPod-USB cable and $60 for an iPod-AV cable.
These are all very important sources of revenue to Apple.
Just look at companies like Dell which still uses C4- and C6- power cables (probably stole the idea from Apple's use of them on G4 macs, of course) and generic adaptors, or iRiver, HTC and Motorola, who use a common mini-usb cable to connect their phones and MP3 players with computers. Their users can simply walk into any electronics or hardware store and fulfill their cable needs with generic cables that cost just a few dollars, depriving Dell, HTC and iRiver of millions of dollars each year in proprietary cable sales!
When will the rest of the industry "get a clue" and create their own proprietary cables, sell them at a 500-4000% markup and aggressively sue anyone who tries to provide a generic alternative???