iPod @ Tech Gear Hub | Apple Takes On iPodMechanic

Apple Takes On iPodMechanic

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Apple is suing an iPod repair business, claiming misuse of their "iPod" trademark in his business name and website address.  Per the lawsuit, he did not have permission to use the name and was give the "cease and desist" in 2006.  Per an agreement with Apple, he was to have stopped using the "iPod Mechanic" name before January 2007, and parked the ipodmechanic.com domain by March of 2007, neither of which happened.

Even worse, the defendant has repeatedly defrauded Apple by getting them to send him free replacement components while never sending in the original, damaged components.  Later, these replacement units would be sold at a discount, apparently costing Apple in excess of $75K.

Additionally, the iPodMechanic was so uncouth as to replace out of warrantly iPods' cases with those that were still covered by the warranty period, fooling Apple into fixing the units for free, so as not to have to pay the cost of the repair parts himself.

While he's clearly very creative, defrauding both Apple and your customers is a pretty bad way to do business and a sure way to a terrible reputation.  I suspect the suit is less about the trademark misuse as much as the fraudulent behavior which directly costs Apple money (and consumers, as well) and is much easier to quantify than trademark concerns.

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