Apple Goes After Accessory Maker

Sanho Corporation has been making some cool accessories for Apple devices for quite a while. Unfortunately, that does not mean Apple won’t be going at the company hard. Apple has sued the company, alleging multiple patent violations. Sanho corporation has used Magsafe connectors and cables to offer accessories that are fully compatible with Apple products. That has led Apple to go after all those chargers and accessories.

In the lawsuit, Apple claims:

Defendants manufacture, distribute, and/or sell products that infringe patents related to Apple’s proprietary MagSafe connectors used to connect power adapters and other products to Apple portable computers, such as the MacBook, … Defendants’ infringing conduct has damaged Apple and inflicted irreparable harm for which Apple seeks, among other remedies, an award of its actual damages, disgorgement of Defendants’ profits from the sale of infringing devices and injunctive relief

Apple has plenty of these types of patents around. So companies need to be a bit careful before using the technologies that Apple has developed for its devices. It will be interesting to see how this lawsuit works out in the end. Sanho corporation is clearly “re-using” Apple’s technologies. According to Arstechnica, Apple could be testing the limits of first sale doctrine with its lawsuit. The outcome could set the precedent for Apple’s future lawsuit against some of these accessory makers.