Norway's Supreme Court Backs Apple in Trademark Case Against Independent Phone Repairer

The Ruling

On June 2, Norway's Supreme Court ruled against Henrik Huseby, who owns a small electronics repair shop in Ski, Norway, finding he violated Norway's Trademark law by importing 63 iPhone-compatible screens with concealed Apple logos. The logos, tiny and located inside the phone where consumers would not see them, had been covered with black ink. The Court found that because the ink could be removed, the screens risked being mistaken for genuine Apple parts, constituting a trademark violation under section 4 of the Trademark law.

The case had a mixed path through Norway's courts. The Oslo District Court initially ruled in Huseby's favor, reasoning that the hidden logos were not visible to consumers. Apple appealed, and the case eventually reached the Supreme Court, which sided with Apple. As a result, Huseby was ordered to pay damages to the company.

The Parts Access Problem

Apple does not sell genuine iPhone replacement screens to independent repairers. This leaves repair shops like Huseby's reliant on imported iPhone-compatible or refurbished screens, some of which may carry small residual Apple logos from the original manufacturing process — logos that are often covered with ink by suppliers to avoid trademark disputes.

The ruling means that even concealed, functionally irrelevant branding on imported parts can expose independent repairers to legal liability, regardless of whether the parts are visibly marked as genuine Apple products.

Broader Context

According to the source reporting, Apple has taken an active role opposing right-to-repair legislation in both Europe and the United States — laws that would require the company to make repair parts and information available to all repairers, not just its own authorized network.