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Apple Sues Teen Who Sold Repair Parts To Make Your iPhone Into A Mythical White iPhone
from the oh-come-on dept
People have been talking about a "white iPhone" for ages, expecting that Apple would eventually reintroduce a model with a white back, which it had on an older model. However, one enterprising teen started offing a conversion kit last fall that would let people "repair" their own iPhones and replace the back with a white back that he sourced from China, where they were apparently labeled as "repair parts." All of that sounds like something that should be perfectly legal. After all, you bought your phone, you should be able to modify it, and the kid selling the parts should be able to sell you those parts. But, instead, Apple sued NYC-based teenager Fei Lam last week, and he's apparently taking on the company without a lawyer. It's too bad, but he's expected to settle the case rather than fight Apple. I can totally understand why he'd settle, but it's really quite ridiculous that Apple would sue over this.
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Reader Comments (rss)
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Go ahead, Steve, tell me how my solution is legally different from a white backing.
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After all Sony sued George Hotz for modifying Sony's property (the PS3 console).
The record labels don't want their property being uploaded to digital storage lockers (the mp3's you paid for on Amazon).
(today it's sarcasm, tomorrow reality)
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Are you just stupid or what? Modifying Apple's property? I bought the phone making MY property. It's no different that Chevrolet trying to sue me because I painted my car a color they didn't like.
You need to go back to your desk at Apple and quit posting crap.
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Apple Sues Teen Who Sold Repair Parts To Make Your iPhone Into A Mythical White iPhone
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Re: White iphone
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2) Unfriendly business model.
3) Basically tells residents/customers if you have a problem with us, take your money somewhere else.
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http://www.unplggd.com/unplggd/how-to/add-a-metal-back-to-your-iphone-4-129754
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And this...
With this move, Apple has just joined my "lifetime ban" list. I'll never buy another Apple product again.
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Repair Steve Jobs
One of the largest businesses in the world is auto replacement parts. Give it up Steve...
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That's not to denigrate the work that the EFF does in a grander sense, but that's simply the truth of the matter these days.
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Legit Trademark Claim
That said, the fact that some kid could make that much money selling exactly what Apple should have offered themselves tells a lot about Apple itself. They could have easily offered their own conversion kit. They could have just as easily sold a phone with a white back. Instead they stuck to their classic you will only buy what we say you will buy and like what we say you will like attitude instead of attempting to actually meet demand.
I wish the kid had just sold a plain white back for the phone, cause then he'd win the suit, but I imagine he wouldn't have made as much money
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Re: Legit Trademark Claim
In all seriousness I agree with ^ its a shame the didn't have plain white cases so he could tell Apple to blow it out its ass right now. But he wanted to make a few extra bucks and sell to elitist idiots who actually care what logo is on their phone and left himself open to Apple's dogs of law.
Of course Apple should be blamed for ignoring its customer base and refusing to create accessories or options that people want. Of course it was all so they could launch a white iphone 1 year after the black iphones so they could get idiots to buy them outside of contract. I amazed at this companies ability to hold such a strong cult following while simultaneously raping the same fan base and all the ever say is check out this sweat Apple brand penis in my colon.
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Re: Legit Trademark Claim
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Rotten Apple
The Apple is rotten. Stop eating it!
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/27/white-iphone-lawsuit_n_868187.html
Or is it back on now because the kid talked to the media?
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Apple sues teen
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Why are people standing up for the kid?
"Enterprising", what an interesting choice of words, considering the circumstances. Just call it what it is "handling stolen goods".
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Re: Why are people standing up for the kid?
After the media attention he had to see this coming.
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Re: Why are people standing up for the kid?
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Re: Why are people standing up for the kid?
Everyone wants to call it stolen goods, have any of you actually proven it or is it just an assumption on your part?
Are they actual Foxconn parts, or were they knock offs?
Because we know it is impossible to copy an Apple product because of the reality distortion field. There are not hundreds of apple look alike products out there, often appearing within days of the real products release.
He was selling some parts made of plastic (I think, I lack an iPhone to know) that only Foxconn could ever produce. Foxconn controls the supply of all plastic and fabrication equipment in the world capable of making a white button or a white plate that fits a specific size.
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Re: He was selling parts manufactured UNDER CONTRACT by Foxconn FOR APPLE. It's at the very simplest, theft?
If not, they don’t belong to Apple.
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Woz Bought One
http://www.tuaw.com/2011/02/01/the-engadget-show-featuring-steve-wozniaks-white-iphone/
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The mafia used to do this too
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If you can't modify it, you don't own it
If you can't modify it, you don't own it!
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Don't know why some here want to beat up on Apple just because it takes issue with the use of its logo by an unrelated third party.
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Meh, seems like Apple overkilling.
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I can only wonder what would happen if a "White Apple" is created using the kit, and then something goes wrong necessitating warranty service from Apple.
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Foolish People
First thing: Hes a kid, he didnt take if off the back of a truck, its a chinese company, grow some brains. He bought it online.
The parts WERERNT manufactured for apple under contract, or else that would mean that Apple WAS actually about to release the white plate.
The logo shouldnt matter, the company (and the law for that matter) should be able to use discretion and determine that the kid posed no threat to their name.
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Re: Foolish People
it's not about if he posses a threat to apple's name.
it's about the issues caused for the customer. (i mean, really, you want ANNOTHER reason for a corproation to go out of their way to be unhelpful when their product has issues?)
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Someone is selling "conversion kits" to recolor your product. Do you:
A. Announce that tampering with your product will void any warranties, and urge consumers to be cautious.
B. Release your own recolored version, which will sell by the truckload to rabid fans.
C. Sue.
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C, on the other hand, is stupid.
unless, apparantly, you actually have this situation come up and are some sort of corporate exec.
(fun fact: i read somewhere, a while ago, a little story, the gist of which was that in NZ, an executive who ran his company in the ground would be hard pressed getting employed as anything much for quite some time, being a failure, while in the states he'd be rehired really fast due to having 'experiance'. it was Supposed to be a shot against the general attitude towards failure (and the tall poppy thing worked in there somewhere) here in NZ. but every time i see something like this, it reminds me of that and i think to myself 'you know, that's why our country is not as screwed up as the USA is economically.' of course, then National and Act go and get in and do their level best to make our government and economy more american... and can't even get that right. (Labour, on the other hand, prefer to do a bad job of imitating Finland or something...))
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Seriously though - how on God's Earth did we end up in a legal environment where people are sued for modifying purchased goods. If I buy a phone, car, Buzz Lightyear, etc...it is MINE and I will do whatever I want with it even if it includes selling kits to others to do the same.
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Figures...
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Selling replacement iPhone parts
Since there's no software involved in this, it sounds remarkably like the car companies' ongoing efforts to prevent others from manufacturing cheaper replacement parts.
Here's a recent article about just such an attempt in France:
http://www.ipfrontline.com/depts/article.aspx?id=25172&deptid=7
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apple repairs
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