Federal judge rules in favor of mophie Inc., a famous accessory maker

Jan 31, 2012 16:02 GMT  ·  By

iPhone accessory maker mophie was awarded an $830,000 judgment against a Texas woman who was found guilty of selling counterfeit versions of the mophie Juice Pack Plus rechargeable external battery case for iPhones.

According to the court filings, Sidrah Qadeer of Spring, TX was advertising and selling counterfeit battery cases on eBay when an investigator hired by mophie placed an order in June 2011 and found the product to be a fake.

mophie sued and now U.S. District Judge John F. Walter in Los Angeles ordered Qadeer to pay monetary damages to mophie, Inc. in the amount of $830,000. She also has to pay mophie's attorney's fees.

Last, but not least, the woman will need to gather all counterfeit mophie-branded materials in her possession and "deliver immediately for destruction."

mophie Chief Operating Officer, Shawn Dougherty said "Counterfeit operations are something that mophie takes incredibly seriously and we are extremely pleased with the decision in this case.”

“Our juice pack line of external batteries continues to lead the category in both innovation and market penetration and we will continue to protect the juice pack and our authorized distributors and retailers against all counterfeiting activities.  This judgment should send a very strong message to all counterfeit sellers that mophie protects its products and will seek out and prosecute counterfeiters," added Dougherty.

The juice pack plus case created originally by mophie sells for $99.95. According to its creators, the accessory is designed to more than double an iPhone’s battery life.

A simple toggle switch allows for standby and charging mode so that users can enlist the help of the external battery only when they need it.

The accessory also features Apple's blessing - "Works with iPhone" certification, something which the counterfeit merchandise confiscated by Judge Walter most likely didn’t.