Pictures of China's fake Apple store
China, long known for producing counterfeit consumer gadgets, software and brand name clothing, has reached a new piracy milestone - fake Apple stores. They were discovered and made public on a blog in late July. This week, the company won a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against several retail stores in the Chinatown section of Queens, New York, that sell cases and other accessories for Apple products, including the iPhone, iPod and iPad. The company's lawsuit, which accuses the stores of infringing Apple's trademarks, comes amid recent reports of multiple fake Apple stores being uncovered in China.
Chinese officials found five fake Apple stores in the southwestern city of Kunming and ordered two of them to suspend business while they're investigated, a local government website said Monday.AP/The Associated Press
A man walks past windows of a shop masquerading as a bona fide Apple store in downtown Kunming, in southwest China's Yunnan province, Thursday, July 21, 2011.AP/The Associated Press
A 5-year-old boy plays games on an iPhone in the company's flagship store in Beijing's Sanlitun Area, which is one of four official Apple stores in China, July 22, 2011.Jason Lee/Reuters
Employees look at a new iPad 2, purchased by a customer inside a fake Apple Store in Kunming, Yunnan province July 22, 2011.Aly Song/Reuters
An employee helps a customer activate his newly purchased iPad 2 inside a fake Apple Store in Kunming, Yunnan province July 22, 2011.Aly Song/Reuters
A man works inside a shop masquerading as a bona fide Apple store while a notice displayed on a window reads "Temporarily closed for internal renovation"July 26, 2011.AP/The Associated Press
A posed picture shows a real iPhone 3GS (L) alongside a fake model, in Beijing July 22, 2011.Jason Lee/Reuters
A posed picture shows a real iPhone 3GS (L) alongside a fake model, in Beijing July 22, 2011.Jason Lee/Reuters
Customers and employees are seen from the exterior of a fake Apple Store in Kunming, Yunnan province July 22, 2011.Aly Song/Reuters