Last year, Apple sued and accused an unauthorized iPhone repair shop in Norway. Apple said that the owner, Henrik Huseby, was infringing on Apple’s trademarks by using non-genuine aftermarket repair parts, as shared by the motherboard, a site that has been covering “Right to Repair” efforts in the United States.
Apple’s lawyers sent Henrik Huseby a letter demanding that he must stop using aftermarket displays to repair broken devices and that he pay the company a settlement. Norwegian customs officials seized iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s replacement screens that were addressed to him and discovered they were counterfeit.
Huseby had ordered the screens, which were “refurbished screens” that were assembled in Hong Kong by a third party. A letter sent by Frank Jorgensen, an attorney at the Njord law firm on behalf of Apple, included a settlement agreement that also notified him the screens would be destroyed. All Apple wanted was to destroy the counterfeit displays, pay a fine of about $3566, and sign an agreement not to manufacture, import, sell, or deal with any products that infringe on Apple’s trademarks.
According to Norwegian news sites, Apple had five lawyers working on the case against Huseby. But Huseby decided to fight the case, and he ultimately won when the court sided with him.
They threw all kinds of claims against me, I had a good lawyer that completely understood the problem, did good research, and read the law correctly. – Henrik Huseby, owner, Apple Store
According to Motherboard, the specifics of the legal case is relevant only to Norway, the lawsuit should be of interest to other independent repair shops around the world who may face similar situations with Apple.
Apple makes its own replacement parts available only to Apple Stores and shops that fall under its Authorized Service Provider, and by becoming authorized, repair companies have to pay Apple a fee but some repair shops don’t want to pay Apple’s fees or submit to Apple’s restrictions. It is not yet confirmed but Apple may be disabling certain iPhone features after repairs are done by aftermarket shops, even when using genuine parts.
