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DHS Seized Aftermarket Apple Laptop Batteries From Independent Repair Expert (vice.com)
Louis Rossmann says US Customs and Border Patrol seized $1,000 worth of laptop batteries, claiming they were counterfeit. From a report: Earlier this year, Louis Rossmann, the highest-profile iPhone and Mac repair professional in the United States, told Motherboard that determining "the difference between counterfeiting and refurbishing is going to be the next big battle" between the independent repair profession and Apple. At the time, his friend and fellow independent repair pro, Jessa Jones, had just had a shipment of iPhone screens seized by Customs and Border Patrol. Rossmann was right: His repair parts were also just seized by the US government.
Last month, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized a package containing 20 Apple laptop batteries en route to Rossman's store in New York City. The laptop batteries were en route from China to Rossmann Repair Group -- a NYC based repair store that specializes in Apple products. "Apple and customs seized batteries to a computer that, at [the Apple Store], they no longer service because they claim it's vintage," Rossmann, the owner and operator of Rossmann Repair Group, said in a YouTube video. "They will not allow me to replace batteries, because when I import batteries that are original they'll tell me the they're counterfeit and have them stolen from by [CBP]." CBP seized the batteries on September 6, then notified Rossmann via a letter dated October 5. Rossmann produced the letter in its entirety in his video.
Last month, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized a package containing 20 Apple laptop batteries en route to Rossman's store in New York City. The laptop batteries were en route from China to Rossmann Repair Group -- a NYC based repair store that specializes in Apple products. "Apple and customs seized batteries to a computer that, at [the Apple Store], they no longer service because they claim it's vintage," Rossmann, the owner and operator of Rossmann Repair Group, said in a YouTube video. "They will not allow me to replace batteries, because when I import batteries that are original they'll tell me the they're counterfeit and have them stolen from by [CBP]." CBP seized the batteries on September 6, then notified Rossmann via a letter dated October 5. Rossmann produced the letter in its entirety in his video.
Companies like Apple use "intellectual property" laws to circumvent prohibitions on tying.
It's illegal to require me to buy my battery from Apple just because I bought my computer from them.
And what's happening here is even worse: trying to make it illegal for anyone to sell batteries for computers Apple wants their customers to replace.
It will also trickle down.
Easier, don't buy Apple (or other manufacturers) that pull this kind of stuff with products they sell to consumers, by pushing mandatory obsolescence.
The CBP and Apple are wrong.
They are not counterfeit. They are what they say they are.
LR needs to lawyer up and sue.
Wasn't there a recent case in Europe with exactly the same situation?
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
Apple should design cars, think of it.
-after a set number of fuel-ups, the performance decreases to save fuel economy
-after a set number of fuel-ups, the car can no longer function, because the gas tank is non-replaceable
-if the tires wear down, you must purchase a new car
-if the windshield wipers need replacement, just replace the whole windshield assembly
-refilling the wiper fluid will cost $250
-the floor mats are non replaceable
-if you blow a headlamp, purchase a new car
-if the remote keyfob battery dies, purchase a new car
This is the free market. It will correct.
What color is the sky on your fucking planet? Because it sure as shit isn't blue.
This is overweening government using rules created by regulatory capture to protect powerful entrenched interests.
It's most assuredly not anything close to being free market.
Or you could stop buying illegal products... but that doesn't fit the "Evil Big Corporation" narrative.
An important detail about Apple batteries is that they have the Apple logo on them, and that's precisely why they were seized, as explained in the letter in TFA. They may have come from the same manufacturer as actual Apple batteries, or even been part of a batch made under an Apple contract with Apple designs, but they still have the Apple logo on them. Since Rossmann isn't buying the batteries (even indirectly) from Apple, nor is he himself allowed to use the Apple logo, it's indeed illegal to use the Apple logo on them. That's precisely the purpose of a trademark: to identify that a product came from a particular vendor.
Now, the Chinese manufacturer could have relabeled the batteries with their own logo, and said they're "compatible with Apple" (or similar wording), and everything would have been legal, and Apple would still be equally unhappy. Since they didn't actually do that, it's an illegal use of the mark.
You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
"How can they be official Apple batteries if Apple isn't selling them?"
Trivial: They could have been acquired while apple was selling them. Then they sat somewhere.
For example, there's fairly brisk trade in laptop parts for certain popular discontinued laptops (including Apple) where the replacement parts are being recycled from units. e.g. the screen from a unit with a dead mainboard, or the mainboard from a unit with a dead screen... i repaired my old clamshell macbook for years with genuine apple parts you could no longer purchase from Apple.
Counterfeit product is a real issue as well, to be sure. But it's overreaching pretty far to assume that just because apple won't sell you X that X is counterfeit.
You're assuming that the batteries are counterfits. If they were counterfeited in China, why bother adding the logo? Why doesn't the "used and recovered" battery story hold water? Or, given the e-Recyclling that used to take place, harvesting the cases from discarded laptops and replacing the cells.
Your ad here. Ask me how!
Exactly. Buying second hand goods should be illegal. It is the same as stealing from the benevolent companies that make it possible to buy anything in the first place. You shouldn't be able to fix your own car, change your own oil, or pump your own gas from a third party vendor. You should do everything at the dealership, using the trained, honest and fairly priced personnel available there. Or go to jail.
Do you have ANY idea how stupid you sound right now? Because your argument is about as fucking pants on head retarded as saying if I change tires on my Ford its now a fake as it still has the Ford logo on the grill!
News Flash Sparky...these are REFURBS, where they take the original batteries, remove the dead cells, and replace them with new cells. They are NOT being sold as new batteries, just as that used Dell you pick up on eBay isn't being sold as a new dell product despite having a Dell logo, its a used unit that has been refurbished.
What Apple is trying to do is simple...make $3k+ hardware that is completely disposable as you simply won't be able to get any parts to make it work! You can't even give the "just take it to Apple" horseshit excuse, because just try that with something like a first gen Macbook Air and see what they tell ya...hint they'll tell you to throw it away as they will no longer service them at ANY price!
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
No, their analogy is much closer to accurate than yours. Apple is a brand, Ford is the car brand. The Shelby would be a very particular car within the brand. Your analogy would only hold if they're trying to sell refurbished Apple batteries that don't actually meet the original specs.