Fake Apple retail stores ordered to close

Two unofficial and unauthorized Apple retail stores have been ordered to close by Kunming, China officials. Not because of their less-than-official nature, but because neither had on official business permit.

Chinese law protects trademarks, of course, but also prevents one store from copying the "look and feel" of another. Exactly how "look and feel" is legally defined in this context is unclear. All in all, five stores were found to be selling products without authorization and two were closed.

The stores' appearance was convincing at first glance. Blue-shirted employees even greet customers. A blog post on BirdAbroad drew attention to the shops, resulting in at least one outraged customer who didn't now she bought a counterfeit product (not all stores were selling faked goods), not to mention cranky shop owners who had been happily operating under the radar. Reuters notes that one of the shops mentioned by BirdAborad has not been closed, and is in talks with Apple about becoming an official retailer.