Let me first say that I couldn't make it through this whole thread due to the massive amount of back and forth debate, right vs wrong and so forth. I got three pages in and had to stop because people can be so...opinionated. So allow me to share mine.
Apple is 100% in the right. Teenager or not, this kid created a relationship with someone in a company producing parts for Apple, had those parts provided to him, then he created something with those parts (which were stamped with the Apple logo) and sold it to consumers. Anyone doing something so involved knows it's wrong. Being a teenager doesn't make you exempt from the law.
Yes, Apple is suing someone who happens to be young by most standards, but this "kid" is old enough to know that he was scamming a company to make a HUGE profit for himself. For everyone stating that he deserves the money because he put out the white iPhone before Apple - he put out a defective kit which had the exact flaws Apple was avoiding releasing to the public.
As many others pointed out, he didn't create a kit in his garage and sell it. Apple isn't attacking "the little guy" here, they're defending their property and their trademark. He effectively stole their hardware and released it to the public in order to generate income for himself. He shouldn't be praised for getting the white iPhone into people's hands; if people are so desperate for a different colored iPhone that they'd purchase stolen property to get it, that speaks volumes for that particular niche of the user base. Yes yes, they didn't realize it was stolen, but still, it speaks to the desperation for a different color that they're obviously buying a non-official kit instead of simply waiting.
So that's that I suppose. I've seen a lot of threads on MR and none have had such vehement negative comments thrown around about Apple. Like it or not, the guy was wrong and deserves to be brought to trial to resolve the issue. Apple isn't chasing down some kid with a fruit stand for selling apples, they're prosecuting someone for stealing from them. The legality isn't so cut and dry obviously, but that's what it boils down to. </rant>
Apple is 100% in the right. Teenager or not, this kid created a relationship with someone in a company producing parts for Apple, had those parts provided to him, then he created something with those parts (which were stamped with the Apple logo) and sold it to consumers. Anyone doing something so involved knows it's wrong. Being a teenager doesn't make you exempt from the law.
Yes, Apple is suing someone who happens to be young by most standards, but this "kid" is old enough to know that he was scamming a company to make a HUGE profit for himself. For everyone stating that he deserves the money because he put out the white iPhone before Apple - he put out a defective kit which had the exact flaws Apple was avoiding releasing to the public.
As many others pointed out, he didn't create a kit in his garage and sell it. Apple isn't attacking "the little guy" here, they're defending their property and their trademark. He effectively stole their hardware and released it to the public in order to generate income for himself. He shouldn't be praised for getting the white iPhone into people's hands; if people are so desperate for a different colored iPhone that they'd purchase stolen property to get it, that speaks volumes for that particular niche of the user base. Yes yes, they didn't realize it was stolen, but still, it speaks to the desperation for a different color that they're obviously buying a non-official kit instead of simply waiting.
So that's that I suppose. I've seen a lot of threads on MR and none have had such vehement negative comments thrown around about Apple. Like it or not, the guy was wrong and deserves to be brought to trial to resolve the issue. Apple isn't chasing down some kid with a fruit stand for selling apples, they're prosecuting someone for stealing from them. The legality isn't so cut and dry obviously, but that's what it boils down to. </rant>
