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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

#151

Post by scott_s »

np- wrote: post #140

I am no CBP fan either, but has anyone considered the case that these are counterfeit AirPods in counterfeit OnePlus earbud boxes? If you look at the opened box picture in the CBP memo, you will notice the earbuds do NOT match the picture on the OnePlus box and look much much more similar to actual AirPods.

I did a double-take based on your comment, but after looking closely at the CBP pictures, and the pictures in this review [1], I think they are likely to be OnePlus pods.

The thing that caught me (and maybe you) is that the OnePlus pods have a flat part, and the CBP pictures have no flat part. But looking at the pictures from the review, the flat part is the end of the stem, and then the bulbous round part that goes in the ear is attached to the stem, with the flat part on the other side. The CBP pictures may have the flat part facing away from the camera.

I had to look at several of the pictures in the review which showed two pods next to each other to build a mental model of their shape.

[1] https://www.theverge.com/21331910/oneplus-buds-wireless-earb...

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

#152

Post by [deleted] »

np- wrote: post #140

I am no CBP fan either, but has anyone considered the case that these are counterfeit AirPods in counterfeit OnePlus earbud boxes? If you look at the opened box picture in the CBP memo, you will notice the earbuds do NOT match the picture on the OnePlus box and look much much more similar to actual AirPods.

[deleted]

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

#153

Post by himinlomax »

np- wrote: post #140

I am no CBP fan either, but has anyone considered the case that these are counterfeit AirPods in counterfeit OnePlus earbud boxes? If you look at the opened box picture in the CBP memo, you will notice the earbuds do NOT match the picture on the OnePlus box and look much much more similar to actual AirPods.

The picture provided by CBP looks exactly like those of OnePlus Buds in this Forbes article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2020/08/10/oneplus-b...

Just GIS for Apple Airpods, the box looks significantly different: https://www.google.com/search?q=apple+airpods+packaging&sxsr...

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

#154

Post by tyingq »

arghwhat wrote: post #144
tyingq wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought it was pretty clear that the fake markings surprised me and that the adapters were not the main item sourced.

It was, but the follow-up action designed to minimize risk of loss when caught by customs rather than avoiding import of fraudulent goods blurred image of your intentions. If you can get the shipments split, I'm sure you could also get them to not send the power adapters at all. If, however, you needed power adapters, you need to import proper ones - not just for legal reasons, but for the safety of the end-users.

As a smaller player, it is very difficult to get the Chinese suppliers to guarantee they won't ship the wrong thing.

Separating the shipment is a relatively low cost way to protect the main item.

Edit: Another example that happened to a friend. He ordered some single board computers that came with some software on a CD...he wasn't even aware of the CD. The CD had a fake "Compact Disc" marking, which is a trademark. Whole shipment seized.

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

#155

Post by navbaker »

villgax wrote: post #96

Wow, & what exactly is the objective of boasting such dumb claims on social media for a govt body?

Positive media exposure can be used as evidence of effectiveness in annual budget request battles, as it is a pseudo-metric that government leaders find impressive.

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

#156

Post by hoorayimhelping »

arghwhat wrote: post #144
tyingq wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought it was pretty clear that the fake markings surprised me and that the adapters were not the main item sourced.

It was, but the follow-up action designed to minimize risk of loss when caught by customs rather than avoiding import of fraudulent goods blurred image of your intentions. If you can get the shipments split, I'm sure you could also get them to not send the power adapters at all. If, however, you needed power adapters, you need to import proper ones - not just for legal reasons, but for the safety of the end-users.

>It was, but the follow-up action designed to minimize risk of loss when caught by customs rather than avoiding import of fraudulent goods blurred image of your intentions.

It seems pretty clear to me, I think you're missing the point of the post. It's that this person is protecting his business in a way that's effective because the government isn't, and this is what he's forced to do when dealing with agencies that claim they're looking out for his best interests.

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

#157

Post by whoknew1122 »

retox wrote: post #147
whoknew1122 wrote: post #134

It's patently ridiculous that CBP seized competing products as "counterfeit AirPods", but at least no children were hurt and/or caged in this operation. I'm ready to give this win to CBP. Keep stifling the free market rather than caging children.

What a bizarre non-sequitur.

Is it a non-sequitur? The same agency here seen seizing competing products for not being Apple products is the same agency responsible for caging and mistreating children unto death.

I'd prefer them stifle competition rather than kill children.

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

#158

Post by newacct583 »

tyingq wrote: post #130

The CBP is very hard to deal with. I once bought about 100 electronic items that come with AC adapters to power them. Unknown to me, the AC adapters had fake UL marks on them. So, the CBP seized the shipment. I asked if they could just seize the adapters, and explained that I hadn't even asked for UL listed adapters. No dice. The adapters represented less than 10% of the value of the shipment. Argh. And, of course, t…

I dunno, that sounds correct to me (contra the article here where they're just mindbogglingly wrong). The customs process isn't designed to prioritize customer value, it's designed to prevent counterfeit goods from reaching the market. These were counterfeit. Demanding that they part out the shipment for you to separate the stuff-they-can't-prove-is-counterfeit from the stuff-recipient-actually-wants isn't their job.

You bought bad goods from a bad supplier and got scammed. That's not the fault of the police.

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

#159

Post by ApicalDendrite »

kop316 wrote: post #145
unixhero wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I for one, cannot get over this: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=tsa+lot+of&_trksid=p233... Pretty much theft and resale.

As someone who (used to) travel a lot, the TSA have signs plastered throughout the entire security line to remind you to look through your belongings and make sure you don't have any banned items (they included what they were and had pictures of them too). If you went through airport security with a banned item (such as a knife), what they did was offer you three choices: - They let you go back outside of security an…

A friend discovered that he had a pocketknife with him just before he was about to go through security. So he went out to the airport smoker's area, dug a little hole in the ground, and buried the pocketknife. When he returned from his trip he went back and dug it up.

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

#160

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]
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