Apple sues manufacturers of 'genuine' cables and chargers on Amazon

Apple is making moves against manufacturers of fake Apple products labeled as “genuine” that are on Amazon.com. The tech giant says that 90 percent of Apple accessories sold at the online store are counterfeits.

The Cupertino-based company filed the lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California earlier this week, alleging that Mobile Star LLC and 50 other unspecified defendants committed trademark and copyright infringements by selling fake cables, chargers and various other Apple products via American e-commerce service Groupon.

The complaint states that the iPhone manufacturer bought over a hundred Apple-labelled products on Amazon and confirmed that nearly nine out of 10 of the supposed genuine accessories were fake. Apple is seeking damages up to US$150,000 (AU$194,500) for every copyright violation and US$2 million (AU$2.6 million) for every trademark infringed.

“Apple makes great efforts to combat the distribution and sale of counterfeit Apple products bearing its trademarks," the suit states. "Despite Apple's efforts, fake Apple products continue to flood Amazon.com.”

Apple said that the bogus products are dangerous because they are likely to “overheat, catch fire, and deliver a deadly electric shock.” Large and legit companies like Apple manufacture products that go through extensive quality checks before they are approved for consumer use.

Accused Mobile Star does not include Apple on its list of supported partners, although at present there is Beats Electronics, a subsidiary of Apple. Beats was acquired by Apple in 2014 for US$3 billion (AU$3.9 billion).

Apple is used to these kinds of lawsuits. The company is one of the most popular electronics providers in the world, and it combats copyright and trademark infringements on a regular basis.

The fake products may still be available for sale on Amazon. These counterfeit items are undetectable because they are identical to the genuine goods. Consumers should definitely be aware and cautious when shopping for said accessories.