OSLO: Norway had a shipment of 63 iPhone 6 and 6S replacement screens from Asia seized by Norwegian customs agents, according to Motherboard. The Norwegian government notified Apple, and a lawyer represented the company proposing a settlement, which would entail Huseby paying $3,500, destroying the screens, and promising to no longer sell or deal with any products that infringe Apple’s trademarks.
Huseby refused the settlement and took Apple to court. The case hinged on the question of how exactly Huseby obtained the Chinese parts, and how they were marked. The ruling was in Norway and does not effect U.S. legal precedent, although Apple has engaged frequently in legal battles in recent years with third-party and unauthorized repair shops. Regardless of the lack of application to U.S. law, how the case plays out after Apple’s appeal will still be watched by observers of the battles between Apple and third-party repair shops.
According to U.S. Code, the crime of “Trafficking in counterfeit goods and services” is applied to one who “traffics in goods or services and knowingly uses a counterfeit mark on or in connection with such goods or services, traffics in labels, patches, stickers, wrappers, badges, emblems, medallions, charms, boxes, containers, cans, cases, hangtags, documentation, or packaging of any type or nature, knowing that a counterfeit mark has been applied thereto, the use of which is likely to cause confusion, to cause mistake, or to deceive.”
