Apple makes a lot of different things, such as laptops, displays, and phones. It does not make gas stoves—regardless if the Apple logo and iPhone brand seem to indicate otherwise. I know better, you know better, and the Chinese government knows better.
On Feb. 23 in Wuhan, authorities raided a warehouse with stacks of green and white boxes with "Apple" (苹果) written on them in Chinese. Inside the boxes, there were gas range stoves with Apple's iconic logo, Apple written in Chinese, and "iPhone" branded on them. The stoves had tags that said they passed inspection. The tags, like the stoves, were apparently fakes. It wasn't just phony merch; the stoves also had defects with their safety switches.
According to Chinese news site Sina, authorities confiscated 681 gas stoves.
The Apple and iPhone logos have been slapped on all sorts of goods in China, from copycat electronics to even sneakers.
There are also Chinese companies who are legally attempting to obtain the iPhone trademark to produce an array of products-from belts to flashlights—because Apple failed to register its trademarks in every trademark category.
While these iPhone stoves are fakes, if Chinese trademark offices allow companies to use the brand, there could be an array of non-Apple, non-electronic iPhone products. Maybe even like this.
武汉工商执法查获大量iPhone牌煤气灶(组图) [Sina via ITMedia]