Friday, August 10,2007 @ 2:10pm
Apple lawsuits: power adapters, receipts
Two new class action lawsuits have been filed against Apple: one regarding the potential for identity theft allegedly set forth by information contained in online store receipts, and the other claiming that Apple's power adapter design infringes upon two patents for a similarly functioning device. AppleInsider reports that two Miami-Dade County citizens, Angely Maria and Todd Narson, have begun a class action suit in a local court that claims Apple has "recklessly disregarded" consumers' rights to have credit or debit card information kept secret under a section of the US federal government's Fair Credit Reporting Act. That act disallows companies to display a customer's credit or debit card's expiration date, as well more than the last five digits of the card's number. The suit alleges that receipts from Apple's online store have shown more information than allowed under the FCRA.
The other suit, filed by a Michigan man, claims that Apple's inclusion of a battery status LED at the end of a notebook recharger overlaps with a previously established patent. The suit calls for Apple to account for lost profits and also pay out triple the awarded damages for patent infringement.