After quietly and stealthily investigating and then seizing products from two New York retail stores (called Apple Story and Fun Zone), Apple is now filing a trademark infringement lawsuit against the retailers for selling fake Apple products using Apple’s logo and marketing materials.
As AppleInsider reports via Reuters, The lawsuit was filed last month, but up until now the details remained sealed from the public so that the items could be seized without tipping off the stores, both of which were located in the Chinatown section of Flushing in Queens, NY.
Apple’s own court filing reveals that Apple sent representatives to the two stores on multiple occasions spanning several weeks, where the representatives purchased an assortment of iPhone, iPod and iPad cases, as well as stereo headsets designed for iPhones.
All of the goods that the Apple representatives purchased carried an Apple trademark, and were also marked with the phrase “Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China.” They also included markings similar to those on authentic Apple products. Even the packaging was “almost an exact duplicate” to Apple’s own, as the court record indicates.
Courts have already granted a preliminary injunction against the two stores banning the from selling the products, and Apple has requested that one of the stores, Apple Story, be required to change its name to prevent people from confusing it with an Apple store.
A settlement is reportedly currently being negotiated between Apple and the retailers, but the actual case seems to extend beyond just those two stores, as the lawsuit aims to include other 50 other involved people and business that have not yet been named.
