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Note: This is the article that Betabeat itself links to.
I think it will be interesting to see if he is tried as an adult or not. Seems a bit odd, someone his age has the potential for a lesser sentence had he committed a violent crime, but perhaps not for copyright infringement. Either way, I think the MPAA/RIAA proved legally roughing up kids isn't the best habit to have.
This is a trademark infringement suit, not a criminal trial. (This means he is not being "tried" or "sentenced" and it's not like he's risking jail time.) Update: It actually is possible for willful trademark infringement to lead to changes of "criminal counterfeiting" although this particular case was a civil suit brought by Apple, not a criminal case brought by the state. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/US_Trademark_L…
He sold a product with the trademarked Apple logo on it without authorization from Apple, and they're protecting their trademark. How is this a story? Is there a trademark exception for being a kid? No. Is there a trademark exception for "same shape as different colored component of product"? No. Now, had he sold a white case without the logo, that would be a totally different story...
He never claimed to be an official Apple retailer or to be endorsed by the company, which is the protection afforded by a trademark.
Come on.. cut the kid a break. If you wanna punish him, take his profits, put it in some kind of trust fund or education fund for him and win some PR points while you're at it.
"Since shutting down whiteiPhone4now.com, Lam has been working on a startup, similarinterests.org, a social web application for connecting users with shared likes. “I’m very thankful,” he said of the money he made on the iPhones. “For months I was struggling for an idea that would bootstrap my first startup and help pay for college.”"
He sold a product with the trademarked Apple logo on it without authorization from Apple, and they're protecting their trademark. How is this a story? Is there a trademark exception for being a kid? No. Is there a trademark exception for "same shape as different colored component of product"? No. Now, had he sold a white case without the logo, that would be a totally different story...
On the other hand, you could argue it's not interesting enough to be worth writing - but the reason it's of interest is because this kid was of interest when he found a clever way to make money in the tech area, plus any story involving a company such as Apple and a legal case is sexy, partly because it offers an insight into how they might approach other legal issues in the future.
Come on.. cut the kid a break. If you wanna punish him, take his profits, put it in some kind of trust fund or education fund for him and win some PR points while you're at it.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
He never claimed to be an official Apple retailer or to be endorsed by the company, which is the protection afforded by a trademark.
The goods were allegedly Apple branded without authorization, hence counterfeit.
That said, I'm not sure his products can be described as "counterfeit", because at no point did he claim they were official Apple products or mislead customers in any way. Absolutely everyone who bought a case off him will have known that it was a non-Apple product designed to enhance the aesthetics of an Apple product.
(Again, without knowing about the laws, perhaps legally this is classed as "counterfeit" anyway, but not, in opinion, outside of a legal situation.)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The goods were allegedly Apple branded without authorization, hence counterfeit.
I've no idea about the exact legal situation, and I would assume that what he did was technically illegal (and would have before I heard of this story). That said, I'm not sure his products can be described as "counterfeit", because at no point did he claim they were official Apple products or mislead customers in any way. Absolutely everyone who bought a case off him will have known that it was a non-Apple product d…
He probably would have gotten away with it if he had changed the labels, but I doubt that was technically feasible anyway.
Apple filed suit to put on record that it's illegal to sell (and profit from) white iPhones that customers might confuse with the official ones. But then they appear to have settled out of court with the family , making this a non-story. Quote: "Apple did, however, also file a voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit at the same time, suggesting that a settlement has may have been reached, although Apple's request for dism…
Is Woz on Apple's board? Wouldn't it be inappropriate for him to help Fei if he is?
"I never resigned from Apple, and I still receive a small paycheck because I want to be an employee forever." source: http://www.woz.org/letters/general/53.html