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Goophone () is a manufacturer of smartphones, tablets and
Goophone () is a manufacturer of smartphones, tablets and smart watch
A smartwatch is a wearable computer in the form of a watch; modern smartwatches provide a local touchscreen interface for daily use, while an associated smartphone app provides management and telemetry, such as long-term biomonitoring. While ea ...
es based in Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
, China. The company earned notoriety for releasing counterfeit clones of popular high-end smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s such as the iPhone, Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
's Galaxy S The Samsung Galaxy S is a series of high-end Android phones made by Samsung. It may refer to:
* Samsung Galaxy S (2010 smartphone)
* Samsung Galaxy II
* Samsung Galaxy III
* Samsung Galaxy S4
* Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
* Samsung Galaxy S5
* Samsun ...
series and HTC One (M8)
The HTC One (M8) (also marketed as the all-new HTC One) is an Android or Windows smartphone manufactured and marketed by HTC. Following a number of leaks that occurred during the months prior, the device was officially unveiled in a press confer ...
using off-the-shelf systems-on-a-chip from MediaTek
MediaTek Inc. () is a Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company that provides chips for wireless communications, high-definition television, handheld mobile devices like smartphones and tablet computers, navigation systems, consumer multimedia ...
and the Android operating system, often with user interfaces
In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine fr ...
made to resemble the devices they imitate.
Patent rights controversy
In 2012, Goophone was reported to have filed a patent application for the Goophone i5, a clone ofApple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
's iPhone 5, prior to the latter device's release. The clone itself was also unveiled before Apple was able to launch the iPhone 5. The company even went so far as to threatening legal action against Apple. Law professor Robin Feldman
Robin Feldman is a law professor, researcher, and author best known for her contributions to intellectual property and health care law. Feldman is the Arthur J. Goldberg Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California, Hastings C ...
at UC Hastings
The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a public law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the first law school of the University of California as ...
expressed concern over China's patent policy, stating in an email interview, "It would be unfortunate if a country's patent system were designed to allow this type of behavior."
Goophone repeated the same strategy later on. In 2017, for instance, it released the Goophone Phone X before the device it is copying in terms of design—the iPhone X—was released. The device, which had significantly inferior hardware, was sold for around £80/$105 while the iPhone X retailed for $999. By the time Apple announced its iPhone lineup in September 2018, the Goophone XS Max - a copy of the iPhone XS Max - was already being sold at Goophone's website.
See also
* Counterfeit consumer goods *References
External links
* Android (operating system) devices Smartphones Counterfeit consumer goods {{tech-company-stub