Apple Unleashes Lawyers on iPod Mechanic
Posted 07/01/2008 at 2:01pm
| by Florence Ion
According to a nine-page filing, Nicholas Woodhams, who owns an iPod repair shop in Portage, Michigan called iPod Mechanic, profited off of Apple’s good graces.
Woodhams is under fire for allegedly violating a 2006 agreement stating he would change the name of his business so as to abide by Apple’s trademark document concerning the use of “Pod” and “iPod” in products and advertising.
In addition to using the iPod moniker, he is also being charged with taking advantage of Apple’s iPod shuffle repair service. According to the lawsuit, Woodhams would submit a repair claim to Apple, receive a new unit and, instead of shipping the damaged unit to Apple, he would keep the dead player and dispute charges with his credit card company. Woodhams sold the repaired units at a considerable discount, costing Apple over $75,000 according to the suit.
Woodhams is also accused of deceiving Apple into covering the repair of an out-of-warranty iPod by switching the back cases with those of iPods covered by Apple's one-year service agreement.
Apple is seeking triple damages, since all three counts appear to have been done on purpose, including Woodhams' trademark violations.