I had a friend back in the 80's with a Bolex watch. It looked a lot like a Rolex and it wasn't made by the people who made the movie cameras. I think either company could have sued successfully, and I suspect the only reason it didn't just say Rolex was that the manufacturer didn't like the idea of going to prison. Many reputable watchmakers like Seiko, Citizen and Heuer have made watches that look very much like the classic Rolex Submariner without risk of lawsuit. As long as they are not replicas and don't carry a false trade mark, there is typically no problem. Design elements are not patentable. No car manufacturer laid claim to fins in the 50's or to opera windows in the 70's.

Apple is not going to pursue the companies making the funny little iMac like alarm clocks. They cannot be mistaken for an iMac since they are smaller and have a different function. If they were exact scale replicas, even without the Apple trademark, there might be a case. Car manufactures typically collect royalties from companies that make scale models of their cars and Apple could demand to share in some of the profits if they were truly miniature iMacs.

Apple is not suing Future Power over just colors and transparency. Obviously the E-Power is a "knock-off" of the iMac, and since they are not operating out of the back of a truck, the Apple logo was clearly off limits. They certainly must have realized that a replica, even devoid of the Apple trademark, would be illegal. The only question is, did they alter the original iMac design enough to avoid successful litigation? Since there is no originality in what they did, it pretty much comes down to whether the thing is ugly enough NOT to be mistaken for an iMac. If there are any discoverable documents at Future Power suggesting they intended to capitalize on the marketing and success of the iMac to the extent that their machine might be confused for one, then Apple has a good chance of success. Without hard evidence that shows intent, it will be difficult to prove that consumers are mistaking the E-Power for an iMac.

What Future Power did is neither virtuous nor enviable. This is the product of a company lacking in both talent and imagination. Their goal was to fall just shy of breaking the law, and I suspect they did exactly that.

Source : NoBeige