Apple’s Latest Cease-and-Desist: iPhone Skins

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

Apple is very protective of its IP, as you might recall with the cease-and-desist order over the Profit Pod, a device used for tracking those tickets given out at arcade games (and which bears no resemblence to an iPod). This one has some merit, as copyrighted icons are being used, but still … they have even gone so far as to “request” journalists to remove pictures of the skins running on other devices (which is why there is no image, which I originally inserted, in this article).

The issue has angered Apple to such an extent that it has sent its lawyers after a number of those involved - both directly and indirectly. The skins don’t add any new functionality to the devices, but make use of the iPhone’s copyrighted icons to create a UI that distinctly resembles Apple’s hybrid mobile phone.

Apple’s lawyers also sent letters to journalists who simply reported on the fact that the skins were available. Source: The Age

We Say: Eh? I can understand going after the skin creator, but journalists as well? That’s definitely over the top.