The US Customs Agency intercepted and seized 2,000 pairs of OnePlus Buds, which amount to around $400,000 (Rs. 2.9 crores) in the US. This is really funny and even OnePlus took it as a joke initially, asking the agency to return them back in an official tweet. The CBP, it seems like, does not do well with jokes as it is doubling down on its action against OnePlus Buds. The agency rules out the possibility of the seizure being a mistake on their part. It has instead, in an official statement to The Verge, stated that the OnePlus Buds violate the Apple AirPods’ configuration trademark. An import specialist for CBP has concluded that “the subject earbuds appeared to violate Apple’s configuration trademark.” The Cupertino giant is said to have trademarks in place for their brand of earbuds with the CBP. OnePlus Buds were seized on the basis of the same at JFK Airport. Does this affect the sale of OnePlus Buds in the US? No, the TWS earbuds continue to be on sale in the US and there is currently no official statement from either OnePlus or Apple. The latter has also not taken any legal action against OnePlus or any other tech giant that has released TWS earbuds that look similar to AirPods. It seems like CBP is taking a tough stance against the company to save face in an embarrassing situation.
