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Feds seize ‘counterfeit Apple AirPods’ that are actually OnePlus Buds

theverge.com

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Re: Feds seize ‘counterfeit Apple AirPods’ that are actually OnePlus Buds

#11

Post by Causality1 »

xvector wrote: post #10
IdoRA wrote: post #9

This is probably a combination of a Section 337 investigation by the USITC that includes OnePlus in its scope and directs CBP to seize certain OnePlus goods, a bombastic press release from CBP, and The Verge reporter not being insightful and generating clickbait. https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2019/er0926ll1...

The Verge’s quality has tanked so hard over the last few years. What happened?

I'd be interested in a writeup of that as well. The cavalcade of stupidity and maliciousness that was the Verge PC Build debacle leads me to think some quite bad stuff has been going on behind the scenes.

Re: Feds seize ‘counterfeit Apple AirPods’ that are actually OnePlus Buds

#12

Post by dylan604 »

wyldfire wrote: post #5

What if they're counterfeit OnePlus products and somehow the message to be released to the public was lost in a 'telephone' game? Brand name dilution can cause some less tech-astute folks to refer to earbuds by the popular AirPods brand name. And given the visual similarity it's easy to see how this kinda thing could cascade from a miscommunication like that. That said it's also pretty believable that CBP thought the…

If you're the organization in charge of protecting against counterfeit claims, you better be able to tell the good, the bad, the fake apart. I don't think I'm setting too high of a standard. Also, when making a press release about your "success", it would be a good idea to take a breath and actually look into the seized goods. In this type of situation, waiting 1, 3, 5 or even 7 days until everything was clear would have zero negative effect.

Re: Feds seize ‘counterfeit Apple AirPods’ that are actually OnePlus Buds

#13

Post by bdowling »

The products here may be considered legally counterfeit for one or more reasons other than simply using the word mark APPLE. For example: (1) trademark or trade dress infringement if the product's decorative features (color, etc.) or packaging copies a registered trademark of Apple, (2) copyright infringement if the product contains copied Apple code without a license,(3) patent infringement if the product implements some patented Apple technology without a license, (4) design patent infringement if the product is a copy of an Apple-patented ornamental design, or (5) some other copied intellectual property.

Re: Feds seize ‘counterfeit Apple AirPods’ that are actually OnePlus Buds

#14

Post by Wowfunhappy »

xvector wrote: post #10
IdoRA wrote: post #9

This is probably a combination of a Section 337 investigation by the USITC that includes OnePlus in its scope and directs CBP to seize certain OnePlus goods, a bombastic press release from CBP, and The Verge reporter not being insightful and generating clickbait. https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2019/er0926ll1...

The Verge’s quality has tanked so hard over the last few years. What happened?

Funny, I think it’s gone way up. There was a dark period around 2015.

Re: Feds seize ‘counterfeit Apple AirPods’ that are actually OnePlus Buds

#15

Post by microcolonel »

MrStonedOne wrote: post #7

The legal definition of counterfeit product (as realized by CBP's jurisdiction) boils down to: Bares a Registered Trademark and does not have a signed letter of authenticity by the trademark holder authorizing its import. That is super broad and covers a lot of things most people would think to be false positives like legit items sold second hand. But even that doesn't cover thinking OnePlus Buds are AirPods.

Isn't the fact that nobody involved in this seizure could tell that they weren't AirPods counterfeits a form of evidence that OnePlus Buds may in some circumstance be AirPods counterfeits?

Re: Feds seize ‘counterfeit Apple AirPods’ that are actually OnePlus Buds

#18

Post by eganist »

microcolonel wrote: post #15
MrStonedOne wrote: post #7

The legal definition of counterfeit product (as realized by CBP's jurisdiction) boils down to: Bares a Registered Trademark and does not have a signed letter of authenticity by the trademark holder authorizing its import. That is super broad and covers a lot of things most people would think to be false positives like legit items sold second hand. But even that doesn't cover thinking OnePlus Buds are AirPods.

Isn't the fact that nobody involved in this seizure could tell that they weren't AirPods counterfeits a form of evidence that OnePlus Buds may in some circumstance be AirPods counterfeits?

Not if oneplus has any protections for their design.

But ianal

Re: Feds seize ‘counterfeit Apple AirPods’ that are actually OnePlus Buds

#19

Post by bjt »

MrStonedOne wrote: post #7

The legal definition of counterfeit product (as realized by CBP's jurisdiction) boils down to: Bares a Registered Trademark and does not have a signed letter of authenticity by the trademark holder authorizing its import. That is super broad and covers a lot of things most people would think to be false positives like legit items sold second hand. But even that doesn't cover thinking OnePlus Buds are AirPods.

There's more than just trademark. I used to work with some attorneys formerly at the US International Trade Commission. From what they told me, most goods that they had seized at the border were caught in "design patent" cases. It was interesting to me how prominent that area of law was in practice, given that we never covered it in my IP classes.
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