Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by symkat 2211 days ago
> As Huseby puts it, Apple uses copyright law as a “weapon” by putting multiple logos and QR-codes on each component part of its screens, knowing that the Chinese grey market will not specifically cater to repairers in other countries that zealously enforce copyright.
1 comments
paxys 2211 days ago
Why does the grey market put Apple logos at all in the first place if not to deceive buyers?
link
tssva 2211 days ago
The grey market didn't put the logos on. The parts in question were screens where the glass had been broken but the display panels were still functional. The glass was replaced and the units are sold as refurbished. The Apple logos on them were on the display panels and placed there when originally manufactured for Apple.
link
monocasa 2211 days ago
This. A lot of these "counterfeit" parts are just official parts that have been refurbished.

Take a broken iPhone, part it, replace the glass, now you have a refurbished screen to go in someone's broken iPhone.

link
jccooper 2211 days ago
They don't. Apple puts logos on their parts and then someone uses them in a "refurbished" part and doesn't scrub the logos. It's not a problem in China, because they don't care, but in more legally-observant parts of the world it becomes a trademark issue, because you have a part that isn't entirely from Apple (and is thus not an official Apple product) but has their logos on it.
link
thoraway1010 2211 days ago
It's to deceive buyers.

I bought a new apple battery with the apple logo from online vendor - turned out to be total junk. Amazon used to be filled with these junk apple parts - I tried so hard to buy a real apple charger etc and you just get junk (with an apple logo).

Despite the claims here that all this trash is "refurbished" real apple product it is not.

Apple has some lawsuits going about this issue. 90% of the items they bought from amazon that were "genuine" turned out to be fakes.

Apple has tried to crack down a bit. You used to be able to drop a crappy third party battery into a used iphone and the buyer would see that battery had no degradation (it often died months later). Now if a bogus battery is installed you get some kind of warning.

link