4 ms·

You said that correctly: counterfeit products. While Apple fanboys no doubt will claim that these OnePlus products are counterfeits of Apple products, that's mo

You said that correctly: counterfeit products. While Apple fanboys no doubt will claim that these OnePlus products are counterfeits of Apple products, that's mostly just their ignorance or wishful thinking talking. From what I can see, there is no actual counterfeiting involved here. This product is both generic enough in design and not brandishing any Apple specific markings. Also comes with a box that makes it clear it's not an Apple product. Sure, Apple might not like that people can walk around with something that looks similar to their overprices exclusive stuff, for a lot less. But that's not a valid definition of counterfeit. You see, it's missing the "fraudulent" part in the "fraudulent imitation" definition of counterfeit. Maybe Apple should not have made their things look that generic. They might have a case if a logo or other protected asset was imitated. But this is not a clear-cut case. Rather one that should at least have a court rule on first. The elephant in the room here is the USA showing what it can do (pretty much with impunity, short term at least) to a Chinese company. Long term, that will prove incredibly dumb and costly for the USA. But not a single person in government, nor any American company executive, will look that far ahead or even remotely care. By that time they are already long gone, pockets filled with short term gains and someone else to deal with the negative consequences.

toast0 6y ago
Sorry, I didn't mention it earlier, since you seemed upset by Customs in general. This certainly appears to be a false positive, and it will most likely get resolved in favor of the importer, unless there's some trademark action we're all unaware of. The shipment is still gonna be delayed though, and that delay is not likely to be compensated; it's a risk in the system (along with many other risks of loss or delay in international shipping) It would probably be better for CBP not to publish their seizures like this until they had gone through the process.
- elmo2you 6y ago
  Thank you for the clarification. Appreciated. I'm not particularly upset by Customs in general, but I get upset when they stretch or abuse their already far reaching authority and privileges. Mainly because I strongly believe that all extreme powers come with extreme responsibility and require extreme accountability in order to not end up being used for all the wrong reasons. This action, including its publication, smells like brutally political, shortsighted, and very likely unlawful (though Customs lives mostly by definition outside the usual legal territory, so there goes accountability). Part of me stopped caring about it a long time ago, when it became clear that the USA is hellbent on accelerating its inevitable demise (as a defacto empire), as long as it can make powerful companies and politicians a few quick bucks along the ride. On the other hand, it still hurts to see stupid things like these happen, while most people appear clueless about the consequences. I know it will be ordinary American citizens that ultimately will pay a price for this, with time. That still pisses me off .. and hopefully it will always remain doing so.

toast0 6y ago

Sorry, I didn't mention it earlier, since you seemed upset by Customs in general. This certainly appears to be a false positive, and it will most likely get resolved in favor of the importer, unless there's some trademark action we're all unaware of. The shipment is still gonna be delayed though, and that delay is not likely to be compensated; it's a risk in the system (along with many other risks of loss or delay in international shipping) It would probably be better for CBP not to publish their seizures like this until they had gone through the process.

elmo2you 6y ago
Thank you for the clarification. Appreciated. I'm not particularly upset by Customs in general, but I get upset when they stretch or abuse their already far reaching authority and privileges. Mainly because I strongly believe that all extreme powers come with extreme responsibility and require extreme accountability in order to not end up being used for all the wrong reasons. This action, including its publication, smells like brutally political, shortsighted, and very likely unlawful (though Customs lives mostly by definition outside the usual legal territory, so there goes accountability). Part of me stopped caring about it a long time ago, when it became clear that the USA is hellbent on accelerating its inevitable demise (as a defacto empire), as long as it can make powerful companies and politicians a few quick bucks along the ride. On the other hand, it still hurts to see stupid things like these happen, while most people appear clueless about the consequences. I know it will be ordinary American citizens that ultimately will pay a price for this, with time. That still pisses me off .. and hopefully it will always remain doing so.