Apple cracks down on knock-off chargers

Apple has sued a company that makes third-party MacBook laptop chargers, claiming patent infringement.

The lawsuit against Media Solutions Holdings doesn’t mince words, calling out the products as “knock-off power adapters for use with genuine Apple portable computers,” InformationWeek reports. “Through various Web sites and otherwise, the Defendants market these knock-off power adapters for use with Apple portable computers, such as the MacBook.”

Media Solutions Holdings allegedly sells the adapters through www.laptopsforless.com, www.laptopacadapter.com and www.ereplacements.com. All of those sites currently list MacBook-compatible adapters, but there’s no way to order them or see how much they cost. InformationWeek doesn’t say whether an injunction’s been ordered.

It’s kind of amusing that the knock-off adapters so closely resemble the real thing in appearance, but I’ll bet that even if they looked different, Apple would still have a valid patent infringement claim because of the proprietary input jack.

It’s also tempting to get mad at Apple for trying to shut down the competition, but the company does have a fair replacement policy, providing free replacement cables, even out-of-warranty, provided there doesn’t appear to be any accidental damage. And if you did have to buy a new adapter, the $80 asking price isn’t out of line with what you’d pay for a PC adapter, and the adapters can be had for less through retailers such as Amazon.

What’s most amusing, as InformationWeek points out, is how Apple is on the giving end of a patent infringement lawsuit. Roughly 15 of these lawsuits involving Apple have been filed in the second half of 2009, and this is the only one where Apple is the plaintiff. For what it’s worth, there are still plenty of fake iPods out there.