Apple, the harbinger of a lot of silly lawsuits, has been given the go-ahead to sue again, but this time it has merit. Apparently, a group of California companies has been selling accessories for Apple’s iPod, iPhone and iPad line without the blessing of El-Jobs-o. That is no bueno in Cupertino, as Apple has rules and stuff about this sort of thing.
Apple’s MFi program licenses developers so that they can legally and accurately utilize Apple products in the creation of hardware such as docks. They are given detailed technical specifications as well as the right to use patented Apple products – such as the 30 pin connector, dock and dock theory. You see, these companies just did sold the stuff anyway.
Also a factor is the Trademark infringement. You can’t rightly sell an Apple iPod dock without saying either of those words on the packaging or advertising for the product, can you? A few of the cases have been settled out of court and one was dropped, but eForCity has decided to fight the lawsuit. It appears that they have taken down the 30pin cables that were mentioned in the lawsuit, but still sells items for iProducts. It’s also worth noting that they have a little disclaimer on their site:
Apple does not endorse use of these products.
Source: Ars Technica
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