Apple has taken legal action against three companies that it claims are illegally selling cloned MagSafe power adapters.
The lawsuit names three US resellers — Brilliant Store, Hootoo and Sunvalleytek — and accuses them of selling adapters that violate Apple’s patented MagSafe technology.
Apple obtained its patent in 2003 and this isn’t the first time its lawyers have moved against alleged breaches.
The company is far from alone in using a proprietary adapter. Nearly all PC laptop makers have unique power ports, though none is as elegant as Apple’s magnetic connection.
Moves are afoot to agree on a standard and two leading PC laptop makers, Asus and Acer, recently agreed to back an IEEE initiative. However at the often excruciatingly slow pace at which the IEEE moves, any process towards a common connector — albeit one that Apple will probably eschew — is likely to take many years.
