Skip to main content

Fake Apple stores ordered to close

fake-apple-store-3After a recent blog post and photos from an American living abroad revealed the existence of several unofficial Apple stores in Kunming, China, public outrage and a government investigation have resulted in two of the businesses being ordered to close.

Reuters reports that two of the fives stores investigated by Chinese officials will have to close, but not because of any piracy concerns or copyright violations. The stores have been ordered to close because they did not have an official business permit.

Last week, we reported on expatriate blogger BirdAbroad‘s account of the fake Apple stores, which were modeled after the company’s signature designs for its retail locations — even down to employees’ uniforms and ID badges. The story and photos quickly became an Internet sensation, and prompted customers uncertain of their products’ legitimacy to flood the store with complaints and demands for refunds.

The blog post also prompted a government investigation into the five locations around Kunming that ended with two of the stores being ordered to close. However, the stores that were the subjects of BirdAbroad’s report and the focus of much of the outrage were not among the shops being shut down.

“Media should not misunderstand the situation and jump to conclusions. Some overseas media has made it appear the stores sold fake Apple products,” a spokesman of Kunming government’s business bureau told Reuters. “China has taken great steps to enforce intellectual property rights and the stores weren’t selling fake products.”

According to the most recent report, officials are now investigating whether Apple’s store design was protected under Chinese law. Copying the “look and feel” of protected companies’ stores is prohibited, but officials haven’t determined if Apple is one of the companies that falls under that protection.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
How to download YouTube videos on PC, iOS, Android, and Mac
A smartphone displaying YouTube on its screen as it lays on top of a laptop's keyboard.

If you're a YouTube fan like us, you might want to know what the most viewed YouTube videos are, and how to download YouTube videos.

Downloading a video from YouTube doesn’t seem like a big deal at first glance, but it comes with ethical concerns to consider, depending on the original post’s intent. As we've already mentioned, it's something Google definitely doesn't want you doing — it's a clear violation of YouTube's Terms of Service, but it's even more important to keep the original content creators in mind.

Read more
A new Best Buy sale just started – our 11 favorite deals
Presidents Day sales with electonic devices packed in open boxes.

If you've been looking to do some shopping recently but haven't found the best time, you're in luck! Best Buy has just started an excellent weekend sale with many different products, but, to help save you some hassle, we've collected our 11 favorite deals from the bunch, ranging from robot vacuums to gaming laptops. So, without further ado, let's dive right in!
Shark ION Robot RV761 -- $143, was $260

If you're looking to dip your toes into robot vacuums without spending a lot, the Shark ION Robot RV761 falls within the Shark Ion 700 range and has a few nifty features, making it a good starting robot vacuum. For example, it has a triple brush mechanism that makes it great for picking up pet hair and does relatively well on carpeted flooring. It also has its own that allows you to schedule and control it to fit your schedule, and it comes with sensing technology that lets it avoid bumping into things. On the other hand, it doesn't have home mapping, which is great for the privacy-minded, but that does mean the occasional bump does happen. The Shark ION RV761 has about 90 minutes of battery life before it takes itself in for recharging.

Read more
When is Prime Day 2023? Dates confirmed for the shopping event
Best Prime Day 2022 Deals graphic with multiple products.

After weeks of speculation, we finally know when Prime Day 2023 is kicking off. Amazon has announced that the event will start July 11 at 3AM ET and will run through July 12. As always, Prime members can score some fantastic deals from the sale with popular brands like Peloton, Victoria's Secret, YETI, and Sony just some of the names being touted by Amazon as featuring in the big sale. Members will also be able to shop more deals on small business products than ever before too. As always, expect great discounts on Amazon-owned properties like Kindles, Ring doorbells, Amazon Echo units, and so much more. It's the sale we've all been waiting for since Black Friday.

The Prime Day deals promise to drop every 30 minutes during select periods with deep discounts expected. Select discounts on other Amazon-related things are already available such as 20% off in-store purchases at

Read more