November 8th, 1999

[2:30 PM] Score Another Legal Victory For Apple! by Staff Apple has scored another major legal victory in the ongoing battle against the iMac knockoff makers. The company announced that a US court has granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit against Future Power and Daewoo that prevents them from selling their iMac knockoff, the E-Power. The E-Power is manufactured by Daewoo and was to be marketed in the US by Future Power. However, the product has yet to make it to market and will likely not see the light of day at this point. Apple® today announced that the US Federal Court in San Jose stated its intention to issue a preliminary injunction barring Future Power and Daewoo from manufacturing, distributing or selling its E-Power personal computer which copies the design of Apple's award-winning iMac™ computer. The injunction will be granted in response to Apple's motion for preliminary injunction which was heard on October 25, 1999. Apple has filed similar lawsuits against eMachines on August 19, 1999, and against K.K. Sotec in Japan on August 24, 1999. On September 20, 1999, the Tokyo District Court issued a preliminary injunction barring K. K. Sotec from manufacturing or distributing its eOne computers. The Mac Observer Spin: Apple seems to be in a good position to keep PC manufacturers from directly copying the iMac's design. A preliminary injunction does not necessarily mean that the company will win their lawsuit, but it does say that the court feels the case at least has merit. The injunctions are also extremely important because it keeps the copycat companies from being able to continue to ship their product until a court decision makes the issue moot due to the long length of time involved in appeals. At the same time, Future Power could appeal the injunction to get it overturned. If Apple can earn a full victory in court against Future Power, it will have gone a long way towards keeping the future riffraff out of Apple's design turf. Such a victory would act as a "precedent" decision that Apple could cite in future court battles. Hot on the heels of Microsoft being declared a monopoly, this is shaping into a good week for Apple. Apple