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Apple Reaches Deal Over New York Knockoffs

 & Chloe Albanesius Executive Editor, News

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Apple has reached an agreement with several New York retailers who were selling fake Apple products out of stores in Flushing.

Under the deal, which was submitted to a New York district court on Thursday, the owners of Apple Story and Fun Zone stores must hand over all their fake Apple goods within five days of the agreement's approval. Apple will then destroy the items.

How will Apple know they have everything? The deal says "the parties shall work together to identify the documents and things to deliver."

The owners, Janice Po Chiang and Jimmy Kwok and other unnamed John Does, must also stop using the Apple name, so Apple Story is no more. The items in question include cases and headphones branded with the Apple logo.

"Apple representatives visited ... Apple Story and Fun Zone stores on multiple occasions over several weeks and purchased an assortment of cases and stereo headsets bearing one or more of the Apple trademarks, but which are not made or authorized by Apple," Apple said in its original August filing.

The cases, for example, include the Apple logo and iPhone mark and include the phrase "Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China." There are also markings that one would find on the back of genuine Apple products, the lawsuit said.

Apple does not produce or allow anyone to sell iPhone cases with the Apple or iPhone logos or iPod and iPad cases that mimic the back of the MP3 players and tablets, the company said.

Apple said the packaging used in the Flushing stores is "nearly an exact duplicate of genuine Apple packaging and appears to be a color copy of a genuine box, which has resulted in some minor differences in the box that an average purchaser would not notice."

Last month, meanwhile, officials in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming forced 22 fake Apple Stores to stop using the company's trademark after receiving a complaint from Apple. For more, check out photos from a fake Apple store in Chengdu, China. And check out the Six Apple Stores to Visit Before You Die slideshow above.

For more from Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeAlbanesius.

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About Our Expert

Chloe Albanesius

Chloe Albanesius

Executive Editor, News

My Experience

I started out covering tech policy in DC for The National Journal, where my beat included state-level tech news and all the congressional hearings and FCC meetings I could handle. I later covered Wall Street trading tech before switching gears to consumer tech. I now lead PCMag's news coverage.

My Areas of Expertise

Getting my start in DC means I still have a soft spot for tech policy; Congressional hearings can sometimes be as entertaining as a Bravo reality show, for better or worse. But PCMag is all about the technology we use every day, as well as keeping an eye out for the trends that will shape the industry in the years ahead (or flop on arrival). I've covered the rise of social media, the iOS vs. Android wars, the cord-cutting revolution that's now left us with hefty streaming bills, and the effort to stuff artificial intelligence into every product you could imagine. This job has taken me to CES in Vegas (one too many times), IFA in Berlin, and MWC in Barcelona. I also drove a Tesla 1,000 miles out west as part of our Best Mobile Networks project. Of late, my focus is on our hard-working team of reporters at PCMag, guiding and editing their robust coverage.

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