Check yourself! Some products have been removed from shelves for infringing Apple's "Lightning" trademark

With the launch of Apple's new mobile phones, iPhone-related accessories such as mobile phone cases and chargers have become hot-selling on major e-commerce platforms. When sellers sell related products, they must pay attention to product infringement issues.

While browsing Amazon’s official forum, the editor discovered that some sellers’ products had been removed from the shelves for infringing on Apple’s intellectual property rights!

Image from Amazon official forum

The seller named "Jus-Buy" said that his product is a universal charger suitable for mobile devices including iPhones, and the product has been removed from Amazon. In the message Amazon sent to the seller, we can see that the reason for the removal of the product is that it infringes on Apple 's " Lightning" trademark.

Amazon said: “ We removed your listing because of concerns that your product may not respect the intellectual property of others. ‘Lightning’ is an Apple trademark, and Apple has design patents covering certain Lightning products, including the 8-pin adapter. Lightning Cable products can only be sold by authorized brands certified by Apple .

Please note that removing the word ‘ Lightning ’ from the detail page will not reinstate your ASIN. You must provide proof that you are authorized by Apple to sell their patented 8-pin adapter. The ASIN will remain removed until you provide proof of patent permission. ”

Lightning is a dedicated data charging interface launched by Apple earlier. Starting from iPhone 5, each new generation of iPhone or iPad is equipped with this data interface. When I checked with the US Trademark Office, I found that "Apple lighting" was registered as a trademark by Apple as early as June 25, 2013, and the trademark is still valid.

Image from the U.S. Trademark Office

Some netizens said that Apple has hundreds of design patents related to its chargers, and unless Apple's permission is obtained, such products cannot be sold. Other netizens believe that when selling such products, you must pay attention to the wording of the product description. You can use the title as "universal charger, compatible with Apple phones", but you must not use trademark words such as "lightening" in the title.

When I searched the keyword "lightening" on Amazon , I found that there are still a lot of 8-pin adapters for Apple phones on sale . The existence of such products does not mean that they are not illegal, but they may not have been discovered by Amazon yet. Relevant sellers must conduct self-inspections in a timely manner to avoid infringement risks and avoid affecting subsequent operations due to product removal.

Amazon

Infringement

intellectual property