Knockoffs selling for almost half of Apple's price

Apple has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Media Solutions Holdings, a company that has allegedly been producing and distributing knockoff MagSafe power adapters. The Apple patent, No. D478,310, was initially issued in 2003. The defendant sells the AC adapters, including the 60W and 85W variants, on several websites such as laptopsforless.com, ereplacements.com and laptopacadpater.com.

All of Media Solutions' websites currently list the Apple adapters are out of stock, however the product pages still remain on two sites. While Apple charges $79 for either the 60W or 85W version, the knockoffs were priced at $47 and $59, respectively.

"The Defendants infringe the patent by selling power adapters that are substantially the same as the patented design," the filing reads. "Through various websites and otherwise, the Defendants market these knock-off power adapters for use with Apple portable computers, such as the MacBook."

Apple is asking the court to award damages for the infringement, including all of Media Solutions' profits from the adapter sales. The Mac maker is also seeking an injunction to prevent the company from continuing to sell the MagSafe knockoffs.

by MacNN Staff