Knockoff iPods Given as Swag at Economic Forum, Apple Threatens To Sue

By Leander Kahney (8:24 am, May 22 2009)

knockoff_ipod

Swiss insurance company Mobiliar gave knockoff iPods to guests at the Swiss Economic Forum. Pic: Berner Zeitung.

The head of Apple Switzerland has threatened legal action after a Swiss Insurance company gave 1,200 iPods to bigwigs at the tony Swiss Economic Forum. Trouble is, the iPods were cheap Chinese knockoffs.

At the Swiss Economic Forum last week, the insurance company Mobiliar surprised guests with an MP3 player that looked very much like a second-generation iPod shuffle.

But when Adrian Schmucki, the head of Apple Switzerland, received his, he threatened legal action against Mobiliar.

Add insult to injury, several of the guests asked Schmucki if the knockoffs would work with iTunes.

The Swiss Economic Forum is a two-day gathering of Switzerland’s leading companies, politicians and academics.

Berner Zeitung (Google German-to-English translation).

Many thanks to Renato Mitra of ApfelBlog. Link to Renato’s post.

7 comments »

About the author

Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

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Posted in Apple, Humor, iPod, News |

Lucas
okay that is a total fail. I mean its tacky enough to give away knockoffs but to do so when a member of the knocked off company is there. oops
Keith Thomas
What a dumb thing to do. How could such a move do anything but make people think badly of this insurance company. Apple will be on their case for sure but imagine how disappointed the guests must be that they don’t have real iPods.
Mike
This news is already outdated… Mobiliar insurances have agreed out of court with apple to replace all the fake shuffles with real ones for free – if the end user wants to do so.
Erwin Hofmann
… why would they, the nock off’s work probably better anyway … and don’t forget, iPots are a nock off (with modern technology) of the old walkman (1978) from Sony … so what …
Cheers
http://www.cyclelogicpress.com Partners in Grime
Now I know where not to buy insurance from. :)
Carlos
That was in very bad taste. I do not see myself inviting my friends home, and then giving them Korona or Budweizer
Rasheedbutt
Nahhhhhhhhh….Forget about Suing. Apple isn’t so stupid to waste its money on such small companies. If they really were to Sue, they would go China and sue all the manufacturers.