Future Power, an eight-month-old computer maker, drew eyeballs at New York's PCExpo this week when it unveiled its newest offering: cheap Windows PCs, but in iMac-style fashion colors.
The company said its new computer, E-Power, will come in "five fun gemstone colors -- ruby, topaz, sapphire, emerald, and amethyst." For added convenience, the curvy desktop model comes as an all-in-one unit, with a single cord.
Sound familiar?
Future Power didn't deny that the source of inspiration for the E-Power came from Apple's trendsetting iMac.
See also: PCs Show Their True Colors- - - - - -
There are a few differences, however.
E-Power runs the Windows operating system and includes a floppy disk drive. The price of the PCs is also substantially cheaper, starting at US$799, compared to iMac's estimated price of $1,200. Future Power says it plans to start selling the PCs later this summer.
Future Power says it doesn't see the E-Power PC as a direct competitor to the iMac. The company says it also held talks with Apple's lawyers before launching the new product, presumably a move to prevent legal dispute over product-design trademark infringement.
Apple declined to comment.
Trademark lawyers, however, said the launch of a look-alike product poses a lot of legal worries for Future Power.
Courts tend to give companies pretty wide protection for the look and feel of their product design, said Michael Scott, a lawyer with the firm Perkins Coie who specializes in computer and trademark issues. Although Apple doesn't have a lock on the market for candy-colored computers, a competitor can't copy too many elements of its design without getting in trouble.
"The more elements that are clones, the more likely a court is going to say you did that specifically to trade on the reputation this company has in this product," Scott said.
