Apple Threatens to Sue Over iPhone Skins

Jan 16, 2007 | By iPhoneChris | Tags: iPhone Skins | Comments

Soon after the iPhone unveiling, a group of excited Apple fans who couldn’t wait ’til June to get their hands on the breakthrough communication device created some “iPhone-looking skins” for their Windows Mobile and Palm smartphones, only to receive a threatening letter from Apple after sharing the skins on the Brighthand forums.

The imitation iPhone skins, which mimicked the look of the iPhone interface but did not add any extra features or functionality to Windows handheld devices, were removed from the site.

Apple also sent a cease and desist letter to Paul O’Brien demanding that he remove from his Windows Mobile community MoDaCo.com a screenshot and link to the iPhone skins.

Apparently, Apple thinks it can silence the press for reporting news it does not like. That’s one way to kill the buzz surrounding a new product.