Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

theverge.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 291 posts

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

#71

Post by celticninja »

calciphus wrote: post #63
mikl wrote: post #62

To be fair, OnePlus Buds appear to be counterfeit AirPods in everything but the name. Same shape, same white plastic, same metal endcaps, same black dots, even the same case design. In other words, a straight-up rip-off of Apple’s design with a few minor changes.

Also it is far easier to produce counterfeit packaging than electronics in the US. If I was going to smuggle something in, I'd put it in other packages and then repack it here. The best way to hide something is to mislabel it.

If you are doing that just send them over in the plastic case, no need for all the cardboard packaging which adds to shipping weight and volume.

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

#72

Post by altacc »

mikl wrote: post #62

To be fair, OnePlus Buds appear to be counterfeit AirPods in everything but the name. Same shape, same white plastic, same metal endcaps, same black dots, even the same case design. In other words, a straight-up rip-off of Apple’s design with a few minor changes.

This is how a lot of "design" works, be it product design, fashion or software. A standard is set by a market leader and consumers want as close to that as they can get. So other companies offer similar versions, often sharing some of the same supply chain. It has happened throughout history and will continue as long as consumers have choice.

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

#73

Post by StavrosK »

Someone wrote: post #46
Semaphor wrote: post #33

Sidebar: Why has the AirPod design become so ubiquitous? I always thought they were the ugliest earbuds since earbuds became small. Is there some technical reason they have this design? Or do people actually like it? Or is it simply the Apple effect?

I guess having the “stick” on it has to do with antenna quality. https://www.bluflux.com/bluetooth-antenna-design-guide-step-... : “So 31mm is the desired length of a Bluetooth antenna without “dielectric loading” (see next section)” https://www.instructables.com/id/Increase-and-extend-the-ran... : “As Bluetooth devices work at frequencies of around 2450MHz, the formula will give you an antenna length of +/- 12cm. Th…

Just to be pedantic, because look where we are, the bag of water is called "head".

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

#74

Post by tirpen »

Semaphor wrote: post #33

Sidebar: Why has the AirPod design become so ubiquitous? I always thought they were the ugliest earbuds since earbuds became small. Is there some technical reason they have this design? Or do people actually like it? Or is it simply the Apple effect?

It's a way to signal that you are rich to other people.

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

#75

Post by p49k »

lmm wrote: post #64
microcolonel wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Maybe it's evidence that AirPods are counterfeit OnePlus Buds. If you want your customers to be assured of getting the genuine article you should put an actual trademark on your product. Apple shouldn't get to claim that anything with a minimalist design is a counterfeit Apple product.

They look exactly like AirPods, though, which is a design Apple created, as an evolution of EarPods. When EarPods were released, they looked unlike any earbuds ever released, despite the fact that ear buds as a product have existed for 30 years or more. If it were as simple as “minimalist design” any of the 100+ ear bud manufacturers of the past 30 years could have designed something similar.

Apple never gets enough credit for their design work in the general tech community. Lots of design work can look “obvious” or minimalist in hindsight.

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

#76

Post by shakna »

segfaultbuserr wrote: post #58
zorked wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's this older Sparkfun story. They had their multimeters seized for being yellow: https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1428

Trademarks are not limited to text, the gray and yellow color scheme is a Registered Trademark by Fluke [0]. Nowadays 2/3 of the cheap meters use this color scheme, at this stage this trademark is effectively dead, most people will not connect this color scheme to Fluke. I didn't even know it came from Fluke (neither did SparkFun I guess), until this incident. But unless Apple registered something similar for shape o…

> Trademarks are not limited to text, the gray and yellow color scheme is a Registered Trademark by Fluke

Absolutely, trademarks can be made in a wider variety of things, but in this particular case...

> Description of Mark: The mark consists of the colors dark gray and yellow as applied to the goods. The dotted outline of the goods is intended to show the position of the mark and is not a part of the mark.

> Color(s) Claimed: Color is not claimed as a feature of the mark.

Interpreting whether or not the gray and yellow color scheme is in fact a registered trademark seems... More difficult than just point to a form.

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

#77

Post by perryizgr8 »

Semaphor wrote: post #33

Sidebar: Why has the AirPod design become so ubiquitous? I always thought they were the ugliest earbuds since earbuds became small. Is there some technical reason they have this design? Or do people actually like it? Or is it simply the Apple effect?

1. Apple removed the headphone jack. 2. Apple stopped giving out dongles in the box. 3. Apple limited others' ability to compete by including proprietary chips in iphone and airpods. 4. Apple marketed airpods as a status symbol. 5. People bought into the hype.

Objectively, airpods are the worst wireless earbuds in the market on every single metric, but still command a premium price.

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

#78

Post by himinlomax »

bdowling wrote: post #13

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…

It's reasonable to think that One Plus could be found to be infringing on Apple's trademarks or design patents, but that would have to be decided in court. It's rather strange that customs could decide that some product clearly labelled with one trademark (and an established one at that) are counterfeits of another.

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

#79

Post by Dylan16807 »

perryizgr8 wrote: post #77
Semaphor wrote: post #33

Sidebar: Why has the AirPod design become so ubiquitous? I always thought they were the ugliest earbuds since earbuds became small. Is there some technical reason they have this design? Or do people actually like it? Or is it simply the Apple effect?

1. Apple removed the headphone jack. 2. Apple stopped giving out dongles in the box. 3. Apple limited others' ability to compete by including proprietary chips in iphone and airpods. 4. Apple marketed airpods as a status symbol. 5. People bought into the hype. Objectively, airpods are the worst wireless earbuds in the market on every single metric, but still command a premium price.

They have good quality audio and low latency with Apple stuff.

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

#80

Post by natch »

fphhotchips wrote: post #27
bjt wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm scratching my head trying to figure out why you're being downvoted while the least well-informed comments along the lines of "Customs officials are dumb!" are at the top. This is very likely a design patent case, not just trademark. In which case, they could be infringing regardless of the logo on the box. Then again, the article isn't helping, as it also seems oblivious to the design patent possibility.

I think pinning this to the article is a bit rough, as the press release indicates they think the item is counterfeit, which implies that they're attempting to fraudulently pass themselves off as AirPods. To me, the use of the word "counterfeit" implies a trademark violation. That's clearly not happening, as the box indicates. If the press release indicated - anywhere - even a whiff of there being a design patent iss…

Shipping counterfeit products through customs with a misleading box that is then removed prior to sale is a common ploy. And one that CBP is aware of. The box means absolutely nothing here.
Post reply on HN