By David Ponce
It’s pretty clear to anyone with eyes that Taiwain-based Luxpro’s Super Shuffle (pictured above) is a direct rip of Apple’s 1st generation Shuffle’s design. I mean, hey, even the product name has the word “shuffle” in it. But that hasn’t stopped Luxpro from being able to file a $100 million suit against Apple. Here’s the story.
Some time in 2005, Apple decided to sue Luxpro over the blatant copy of its design. They managed to get an injunction halting the sales of the product, and forcing it off the shelves until the suit was settled. Well, it’s a little over a year later, and the court in Taiwain decided that the Super Shuffle didn’t rip anyone off, as the devices “have FM radio functionality, feature OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panels and have a distinct Luxpro logo, unlike the Apple product.” And, well, since the Super Shuffle was forced off the shelves all this time, Luxpro’s going for $100 million in damages.
The lesson? Copy anyone’s product, slap an ugly logo on it and add a couple extra vanilla features for good measure. Sit back, and enjoy soaring sales off the back of someone else’s marketing efforts. What fun.
[ Newlaunches ] VIA [ Digitimes
