DHS Seizes Aftermarket Apple Laptop Batteries from Independent Repair Expert

Megalith

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In the high-profile iPhone and Mac repair professional’s latest video, Louis Rossmann explains how US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) seized $1,000 worth of laptop batteries coming from China to his repair shop simply because they featured the Apple logo: “It is assumed that if something has that Apple logo on it, it must be counterfeit.” According to Rossmann and other right-to-repair advocates who have had their property seized, this is a clear attack on independent repair by Apple and the government.

“If I become an Apple authorized service provider and I wish to obtain parts to a machine they consider vintage, Apple will say no,” he said. “If I talk to somebody in China...they get taken by a company that’s using the power of the government to seize my stuff. Apple is working with the government to shut down those who mislead customers, aka trying to fix machines that they won’t fix because they consider them vintage after four or five years. Just around the time that your battery starts to die.”
 
Didn't the supreme Court recently rule that it is illegal to refuse repair on a product if it was previously taken to a third party repair shop? Seems like left hand doesn't know what right hand is doing here in the USA government...

Good on Rossman for keeping vigilant!
 
US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) seized $1,000 worth of laptop batteries coming from China to his repair shop simply because they featured the Apple logo

Wait customs sized them because they had the apple logo? Were these apple batteries? Or were they some sort of counterfeits?

Did you know that that is you import athletic shoes with the Nike logo that are not made by Nike they will be seized? Duh.

Third party lithium batteries with the Apple logo slapped on to make them appear better than they are... seized

How easy it it to generate outrage today. Millions of people marching in the streets carrying signs says "America Demands Counterfeit Lithium Cells"
 
US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) seized $1,000 worth of laptop batteries coming from China to his repair shop simply because they featured the Apple logo

Wait customs sized them because they had the apple logo? Were these apple batteries? Or were they some sort of counterfeits?

Did you know that that is you import athletic shoes with the Nike logo that are not made by Nike they will be seized? Duh.

Third party lithium batteries with the Apple logo slapped on to make them appear better than they are... seized

How easy it it to generate outrage today. Millions of people marching in the streets carrying signs says "America Demands Counterfeit Lithium Cells"

Might want to watch the video first before leaping to conclusions....
 
US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) seized $1,000 worth of laptop batteries coming from China to his repair shop simply because they featured the Apple logo

Wait customs sized them because they had the apple logo? Were these apple batteries? Or were they some sort of counterfeits?

Did you know that that is you import athletic shoes with the Nike logo that are not made by Nike they will be seized? Duh.

Third party lithium batteries with the Apple logo slapped on to make them appear better than they are... seized

How easy it it to generate outrage today. Millions of people marching in the streets carrying signs says "America Demands Counterfeit Lithium Cells"

Let's say that was exactly what was going on.

Still, Apple doesn't want to provide the part. Bring on the "counterfeits"!
 
Let's say that was exactly what was going on.

Still, Apple doesn't want to provide the part. Bring on the "counterfeits"!

Sorry... but that is just silly.

Big difference between "counterfeits" and 3rd party replacements. One pretends to be the other by use of official logos/wording, due to higher perceived value.

I would agree that Apple should not be able to stop 3rd party replacement part sales... but those parts should be clearly marked where customers know what they are buying.
 
US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) seized $1,000 worth of laptop batteries coming from China to his repair shop simply because they featured the Apple logo

Wait customs sized them because they had the apple logo? Were these apple batteries? Or were they some sort of counterfeits?

Did you know that that is you import athletic shoes with the Nike logo that are not made by Nike they will be seized? Duh.

Third party lithium batteries with the Apple logo slapped on to make them appear better than they are... seized

How easy it it to generate outrage today. Millions of people marching in the streets carrying signs says "America Demands Counterfeit Lithium Cells"
They actually were genuine Apple batteries.

EDIT: Possibly not, I was going by his initial statements.
 
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[H] is a little slow on this story... Rossmann has already admitted that these were indeed counterfeit batteries.


Congrats to CBP on a job well done!!

They actually were genuine Apple batteries.

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[H] is a little slow on this story... Rossmann has already admitted that these were indeed counterfeit batteries.
Yes and no. His stance:

"I am speculating as to one of the many ways they were obtained.

Perhaps they came from demo machines that were no longer used.

Perhaps they came from back-stock excess that was liquidated or never used.

I can't say for sure. My point is: neither can they, which is why I believe there should be a burden of proof required before calling it counterfeit."


Either way, he should have avoided all the fuss and used the sharpie method like before.
 
this is one of the reasons i dont buy apple products.
having said that, i dont care which OEM we are looking at here. if you refuse to supply parts for a system and abandon that system, you have immediately given up any and all rights to complain about THIRD PARTY PRODUCTS entering the market so long as they do not purport to be legitimate replacement parts. mark them clearly as NOT being official OEM and we are done here move on.


the real story here in my opinion is: dont buy apple.
 
this is one of the reasons i dont buy apple products.
having said that, i dont care which OEM we are looking at here. if you refuse to supply parts for a system and abandon that system, you have immediately given up any and all rights to complain about THIRD PARTY PRODUCTS entering the market so long as they do not purport to be legitimate replacement parts. mark them clearly as NOT being official OEM and we are done here move on.


the real story here in my opinion is: dont buy apple.

Real story here is no one know exactly quite yet. Also Third party and counterfeit are different things. But if you don't like Apple don't buy Apple, if you like them buy it.
 
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It sounded like they seized them because them had a trademarked logo on them?

The story has had more added to it so not sure at this point. He'll prolly follow up with a vid at some point.
 
Real story here is no one know exactly quite yet. Also Third party and counterfeit are different things. But if you don't like Apple don't buy Apple, if you like them buy it.

i did note the distinction between counterfeit and third party.
 
So he's had problems in the past but continues to go this potentially problematic route?

Heh - he just likes the cheaper batteries manufactured on what once were or potentially were going to be Apple lines. Probably because the quality is higher than other 3rd party batteries.

Boo hoo. You take the chances, you have to live with what happens if you get caught. Plenty of makers out there that have batteries with no Apple markings on them; use them if you don't want to go through Apple (or Apple won't sell to you).

I like Rossmann for the most part, but crap like this doesn't help his cause.
 
It sounded like they seized them because them had a trademarked logo on them?

That's what I got out of it. Either show proof they were purchased in a conventionally accepted way - used from a recycler, oversuppy from the manufacturers run, etc., and the seller was authorized to sell the product, or just stop with the Apple logo'd crap and go full on third party.

This drama takes away from the right to repair conversation.
 
Is your car battery counterfieght if you have one made to the identical specifications of the old one or source old stock of the old model that is now discontinued?
It would be if it weren't an Autozone battery but claimed it was and had their markings. Then, yes, it's counterfeit.

To say we can't use a third party battery is a different conversation. Again, this situation just confuses the right to repair issue for some and takes away from that conversation.

I'd be interested if they seized third party batteries, with zero Apple markings, logos, etc., for the same reason, claiming they are counterfeit. Then we have a huge issue, and not just with Apple.
 
To put right to repair into automotive context, if Ford, Toyota, etc., are able to say all third party parts are counterfeits and all repairs must be authorized by them and no repairs will be authorized for vehicles outside their warranty period (5-7 years) - Holy Mother of God...goodbye Autozone, NAPA, Walmart, M&M Auto your shade tree mechanic, eBay, Amazon, etc.

Tesla, right?

Think about your home, now....

But, that's not exactly what this is about, yet.
 
Is your car battery counterfieght if you have one made to the identical specifications of the old one or source old stock of the old model that is now discontinued?

Nope. If it has a Toyota logo on it and it didn't come from Toyota (sharpied out or not) then that's a trademark violation.

Rossmann is doing no favors here muddying the right to repair waters with this crap :(
 
what he gets for supporting Trump as long as he supports the GOP he will never get a right to repair bill
 
If the batteries had Apple trademarked logo on them... then this is bound to happen. It is probably just plain wrong for them to be allowed into the USA with the Apple logo still on them in any form.

If the batteries are simply "compatible" with Apple products and the logo is either not there or is actually removed before importing them? Then sure. Screw Apple and let the repairs commence!

I'm having a hard time with this story because apparently the parts bore the Apple logo. That's just not going to cut it. If Apple doesn't authorize those parts it doesn't matter how or where they were made and they can not and should not bear their trademark.
 
Nope. If it has a Toyota logo on it and it didn't come from Toyota (sharpied out or not) then that's a trademark violation.

Rossmann is doing no favors here muddying the right to repair waters with this crap :(

But why does the removed apple logo make it counterfieght? Obviously on this batch they were not removed or not good ebough, but are they being sold as apple oem or just as compatible?

If they kept the logo and were being called Apple oem parts then i agree with you.

However we need to know the exact semantics because if the logo is removed and they are sold as non-apple then but compatible identical parts then there is really no issue.

Just for the record id go for some method better than a sharpie.

Edit

Advil as far as i understand the batteries may have been old stock or pulls, or possibly factory tooling test. If they were originally manufactured for apple that messies things up a bit.
 
If the batteries had Apple trademarked logo on them... then this is bound to happen. It is probably just plain wrong for them to be allowed into the USA with the Apple logo still on them in any form.

If the batteries are simply "compatible" with Apple products and the logo is either not there or is actually removed before importing them? Then sure. Screw Apple and let the repairs commence!

I'm having a hard time with this story because apparently the parts bore the Apple logo. That's just not going to cut it. If Apple doesn't authorize those parts it doesn't matter how or where they were made and they can not and should not bear their trademark.
according to the video they were actual apple batteries from the same manufacturer the only reason they got seized was because rossman is not apple apparently they pulled this shit before with some lcd that got repaired in china then shipped back as refurbs to another store.
 
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Apple has had it out for this guy for awhile now, it's ridiculous how they keep fucking with him but all they do is create more content for his channel when they do.

It boils down to the batteries bearing the Apple trademark.
 
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It boils down to the batteries bearing the Apple trademark.
no it doesn't because those were batteries originally manufactured for apple it is legal to buy apple oem parts except apple won't sell them to you

What this comes down to is apple trying to control their products so that the only people who can even get parts for them is apple themselves and by doing so they can kill off a product like that is EOL so if you want a apple computer prepare to shell out 2000 dollars every 2-3 years to apple to get a new one when your old pos dies.

Apple is moving in a direction of disposable products that can not be repaired.
 
I love how paranoid Louis is...he actually thinks Apple spend all their time watching him and that they are in cahoots with the government. It is a simple matter, they have a trademarked logo on them and being imported illegally.

Apple have a right to protect their IP and many of these knock off batteries are unsafe putting customers at risk. I can guarantee you if the laptop caught fire and hurt someone Apple would immediately get the blame instead of a 3rd party.

They could have printed “non-genuine” on the batteries and they would have gone through customs fine but we all know why they did it, because Louis and 3rd parties want you to think its a genuine part.
 
no it doesn't because those were batteries originally manufactured for apple it is legal to buy apple oem parts except apple won't sell them to you

What this comes down to is apple trying to control their products so that the only people who can even get parts for them is apple themselves and by doing so they can kill off a product like that is EOL so if you want a apple computer prepare to shell out 2000 dollars every 2-3 years to apple to get a new one when your old pos dies.

Apple is moving in a direction of disposable products that can not be repaired.

Probably should read some of the above comments... It appears Rossmann has admitted to not knowing exactly how the parts were procured (not unusual but certainly limits his response). He admitted it was "most likely" a factory that was not authorized to make the batteries (at the time) but still had the molds/tooling etc either from a bid or previous legal runs. He said he didn't care and usually has the logo blacked out.

So the key really IS about the logo and when/who made the product. If the factory was no longer authorized and they lazily decided to not remove the logo then yes any battery made while not authorized WITH a logo would be counterfeit.

But if like you allude to, they were back stock/used/etc, created by an factory that was authorized at the time of manufacture then then they would be legit.

The issue at this time is we don't know the details and the devil is in them... we have a video saying one thing and posts by the same person admitting another.

I wouldn't really care about the logo either on a personal level but things would be completely different if I ran a business and I certainly wouldn't go on youtube and crywolf unless I was sure...
 
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I love how paranoid Louis is...he actually thinks Apple spend all their time watching him and that they are in cahoots with the government. It is a simple matter, they have a trademarked logo on them and being imported illegally.

Apple have a right to protect their IP and many of these knock off batteries are unsafe putting customers at risk. I can guarantee you if the laptop caught fire and hurt someone Apple would immediately get the blame instead of a 3rd party.

They could have printed “non-genuine” on the batteries and they would have gone through customs fine but we all know why they did it, because Louis and 3rd parties want you to think its a genuine part.

Honestly the guy is a complete moron. He's probably very talented at fixing Apples products, surely. But every time I hear about him he's getting sued by Apple or losing money because of Apple. He's like an addict - he knows what he is doing is harming him (financially or otherwise) and yet he keeps doing it. Obviously these batteries are either counterfeit or stolen from Apple manufacturing plants. Also Apple isn't working with customs to seize Louis packages. That's pure conspiracy lunacy.
 
Let's say that was exactly what was going on.

Still, Apple doesn't want to provide the part. Bring on the "counterfeits"!
Fuck that. Counterfeits deserve to be burned. If they are trying to trick the customer into thinking they are genuine, OEM parts, that's wrong on a number of levels. They could look exactly the same as a legit Apple product but be half the capacity, or could start fires at worst. If they are just 3rd party replacement parts and are advertised as such, then its fine. Big difference there. Sounds like Louis had counterfeits shipped to him.
 
There are no legit batteries available because Apple has declared the product "end of life" and refuses to produce anymore. As to the provenance of these batteries, it is unknown, but they were not being sold as genuine OEM on Rossman's store (he has been selling these for a while). The issue is whether they had the logo marked out or not. That is unknown. Rossman's video is misleading in that he implies them being old demo unit batteries or such, which is unlikely due to the age. It is getting hard to obtain battery replacements for devices that are perfectly functional.
 
non apple products using an apploe tradmarked logo.
yeah its pretty fair that counterfiet products gets siezed

apple compatible product with not trademarked logo etc
yeah those are not apple to do anything about.
 
So has Louis gone into hiding, no videos since. Maybe he has built a bunker to hide from the government that Apple paid off just to watch him while Tim Cook observes from home.
 
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