Apple fans wander aimlessly after a court ruling closed down Apple Stores across America
Cupertino, CA — There’s a frightening similarity between Apple’s retail stores and the fake stores recently uncovered in China. And the company behind those fake stores is steaming mad about it.
Citing a “similarity that goes far beyond coincidence,” China’s Appel Inc. has obtained a preliminary ruling forcing Apple Inc. to close its stores immediately — and has vowed to do whatever it takes to permanently shut down the “flagrant copies” built by Apple.
Appel is also seeking $200 million in punitive damages.
Appel’s CEO, Steven Joobs, met with reporters in Shanghai this morning to discuss the legal action.
Appel CEO Steve Joobs (right) is incensed that Apple CEO Steve Jobs (left) would stoop to such blatant copying
“Just look at our stores side by side,” says Joobs. “It’s bad enough that Apple has wood tables and a Genius Bar like us — they’re even selling the same technology!”
The evidence was compelling enough for a San Francisco Superior Court justice to order a temporary shutdown of all Apple Stores in the U.S. pending a trial, now set for September 19th, 2011.
Scoopertino legal consultant, Evan Brettmeir, says Apple’s mega-successful chain of over 300 stores could be in serious jeopardy as a result of Appel’s lawsuit.
“Apple has put itself in a very difficult place by being so aggressive with their stores,” says Brettmeir. “It’s gotten ten times worse since they cloned Android to create iPhone.”
The legal threat to Apple is growing more severe by the minute. Sources tell us that Redmond-based Microsoft is soon to join Appel as a co-plaintiff, claiming that Apple has shamelessly replicated original Microsoft Stores’ features as well, most notably the “woo-hoo, high-fiving” line of employees that appear at their store openings.
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