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Infinite Loop / The Apple Ecosystem

Apple gets go-ahead to move against unauthorized accessory makers

A federal judge has ruled that Apple's trademark infringement suit against a …

A federal judge has ruled that Apple's lawsuit against a group of California companies selling unauthorized accessories for iPods, iPhones, and iPads can continue. The group of four companies, led by eForCity, tried to have the lawsuit dismissed on procedural grounds, but US District Judge Jeremy Fogel has ordered the lawsuit to proceed.

In July, Apple sued a group of seven companies that make and/or sell unauthorized accessories designed to work with its various iDevices. Apple has a specific licensing and certification program for businesses that want to offer such accessories, known as the MFi Program. To avoid paying the licensing fees, the seven companies skirted the program and made accessories without Apple's blessing. Apple claimed that by doing so, the companies are culpable for patent infringement—as the company has numerous patents on its 30-pin dock connector and cable—as well as trademark infringement and unfair competition.

"These products are frequently advertised and sold in a manner that falsely and unfairly implies affiliation with Apple and infringes Apple’s valuable intellectual property," Apple said in its original complaint. "Many are of inferior quality and reliability, raising significant concerns over compatibility with, and damage to, Apple’s products."

Two of the companies in the suit ended up settling, while a third was dropped from the case by Apple when it failed to respond to the lawsuit. The four remaining companies tried to argue that the suit lacked merit because Apple didn't identify the specific patent claims that its products infringed. Judge Fogel noted in his order denying the motion to dismiss that stating such specific claims is not required to file the suit, and aren't due until after case management has been determined.

Judge Fogel did give a small win to eForCity, however—he granted its motion to strike a quote from an angry eForCity customer from Apple's original complaint. Apple used the quote, which claimed an eForCity iPod cable was "garbage," to reinforce its claim that eForCity products were inferior. eForCity argued the quote was not essential to the claims for relief, and Apple did not oppose the motion.

It's unclear if eForCity has any viable defense with the case headed to trial. It may try and fight the patent claims, but given the costs involved in such a case, it's more likely to settle. In a similar instance last year, Apple applied legal pressure on Sanho Corporation, which produced a popular line of HyperMac extended batteries for Apple notebooks that used patented MagSafe connectors. Sanho expunged the MagSafe connectors from its products, hoping to avoid costly litigation.

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