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Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

Disclaimer: I am not here asking for legal advice, this I will seek from a lawyer in the future. I am here to hear your opinions :boink:


So one of my "future" projects is to sell used smartphones. My question is about the risk of a lawsuit when attempting to sell refurbished smartphones. Say I buy a 1000 defective iPhones off Craigslist or simply from people on the street, then I get these phones fixed using imported parts from China (i.e: screens, cameras...etc). Afterwards these phones will be listed on eBay or my own website with a clear big disclaimer that the iPhones were repaired using 3rd party parts...etc


Could Apple or Samsung sue me for selling these phones that were fixed using non-Apple or non-Samsung original parts?

My legal knowledge is limited, but I know that companies can't control what happens to their products as soon as they sell these to private individuals (there is a law for this, but I can't recall what it is called right now :violin:)


An analogue of cars came to my mind when I thought about this. Can Ford sue someone who buys used Ford cars, fixes/tunes them and then re-sell?! Is not that what many used-car companies essentially do?



What do you think?

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

Based on some limited knowledge, these companies can not sue you for fixing with non-company parts. HOWEVER, this voids the warranty and any product support from the company.

That being said, if a customer finds this out AND you have not been clear about the phone repair products use, the customer could sue you or complain about misleading sales - more of a civil lawsuit...and a big "IF".

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

My $.02 - no risk at all. They're way too focused on copyright infringement through counterfeits to go after some small seller who's selling phones he fixed up himself.

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

Anything apple I know will get confiscated by customs as you have to be a licensed to repair.

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

:rip::rip::rip::rip::rip::rip::rip:

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

I wasn't meaning to kill you.

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

RIP. lol. Guy in the video is convincing. I assumed any refurbished phone vendors had to have licenses cause they're technically a repair shop.

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

Hmm, yea no idea how outside of the VERO reporting system how apple/samsung/google would work to take down third party refurbished phones sold on ecommerce sites.

99% of people wouldn't be the wiser if their phone had this part or that but they'd notice quality ie battery life. I guess that 1% could claim Not As Described ha.

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

The customs can't confiscate parts that don't have the Apple logo printed on them. Apple lost a court case against a phone repair shop in Denmark with regard to this.

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

Yeaaa, but how would one get phones imported that DO have the logo, haha. The guy makes it sound like whenever customs intercepts a small-ish order of apple repair parts they assume they're knockoff.

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

No phones will pass through the customs in the first place. The business model is the following:

You buy used (defective) smartphones, you get them repaired using 3rd party parts and then you sell them in your respective country.


I saw a person the other day on YouTube talking about this exact business model, but the guy was ultimately banned from eBay due to Vero.

I once bought an LG phone off eBay which got shipped from Italy, at first glance the phone seemed to be 100% legit, but after using it for a few months it went dead. Later I discovered that the phone I bought as "new" was in reality refurbished with ⊗⊗⊗⊗ parts :boink: So I could see how this could bring in potential Vero-hits :fight:


Selling Apple products on Amazon is impossible unless you are authorized by Apple and I think that will be the case with other manufacturers in the future as well.


IMHO, the only way to do this is by creating your own website so that nobody can kick you off. All what it would take Apple is to file Vero claims to get you out of business even if they don't intend to sue you :noidea:

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

Driving traffic to a personal site would give full control heh.

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

Easier said than done :pop2:

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

True - and lot of competition let alone payment processing search, etc

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

Your legal concerns would only apply if you had intention of reselling these devices as new, or as refurbished by the (inset brand here) in question.

I seem to recall an old case where Apple brought suit on a 3rd party reseller of mobile phones and told him to stop because he was distributing them as "original" devices.

So long as you are clear in your disclaimer that the iPhones were repaired using 3rd party parts, you should be OK. That said, I'm not an attorney so if you are planning to do this as a significant business, it wouldn't hurt to pay a few bucks to seek a consultation as there might be some IP or Trademark issues we are unaware of.

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

My main concern was about the 3rd party parts that will be used to repair the iPhones in the first place. The idea was that Apple could say these 3rd party parts are identical to Apple parts and thus deem them counterfeits.


I will for sure consult with a top-notch lawyer before starting such a thing... Nobody wants to go to court with a big behemoth like Apple :peace:

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

man.. this is why the right to repair bill is so crucial

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

Dead to rights.

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

are you referring to First sale right?
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...e-court-rules/
he is buying text books printed overseas ,but he is selling on Ebay to US buyers.
but you are selling altered Apple phone

Re: Question about Smartphones and Lawsuits.
 

what if someone bought them from you and try to resell them as brand new or slightly used,all original parts?