Apple threatens Colombian mobile phone repairer with prison

mWhile many are waiting, what will be the launch of Apple and what will be the arrival iPhone 15 in September, cell phone repairman and technological elements have become the focus of attention this giant company in Colombia. At least that’s how they understood the situation. Wilmer Becerra which was posted on social media.

According to the owner of the Wiltech company, he received a letter from an American law firm “Baker Mackenzie” and in this they indicate that they represented Apple in order to make some inquiries and avoid going to higher courts.

“Apple has the exclusive right to use Apple Trademarks to allow its licensees and authorized resellers to use the Apple Trademarks and to prevent others from using the Apple Trademarks. without their consent,” reads part of the document, which the Colombian posted on his social media profiles.

While it seems like an exaggeration that a giant company is reaching out to a tech repairman, there are important numbers on the social media of the said Colombian company: more than 220,000 followers in Instagram, over 6 million on Facebook, exceeds 5 million on TikTok and adds 147,000 subscribers on youtube.

His work became popular when he began doing renovations live, both with his clients up front and live on digital venues. Thus, he sought to guarantee the quality of his work and the verification of the labor and spare parts used. The Wiltech brand has become better known online and has repair shops in other countries in the Americas: Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Mexico and Guatemala, according to their data.

Apple v Wiltech case in Colombia

This generated a lot of interest, we should be wary of what Wilmer Becerra said about the letter from Apple’s lawyers and what he assumes they are asking about his business.

The quoted passage explains that the conflict arises from the handling of “Apple Trademarks”.which includes the name of the company and its products, logos and images of technological equipment, as well as direct references to them in promotional materials, promotional videos and online publications.

The letter also states that the penalty in Colombia will be “from four (4) to eight (8) years in prison and a financial fine.” In no case explain what hinders the right to work or repair technological elements of this or other companies on the market. But this is what the man means in the Instagram “post” that accompanies the image:

Apple Inc. Send your lawyers to tell me I can’t fix their equipment anymore!… If I don’t stop fixing their equipment, I could go to jail!

In your message Becerra asks the public if it’s a crime to repair technology items that Apple believes that they cannot be fixed, or that the owner of the equipment should not be the one who decides whether he seeks repairs and with whom to carry them out.

Wiltech’s proposal to Apple to work together

To close the topic, Wilmer Becerra shared his response to Apple lawyers who contacted him: “Dear Lawyers, tell your customer we’d better forge an alliance between Apple and Wiltech to offer a quality repair program for everyone Apple products not covered by warranty.”

In an interview and testimony given to the media, the Colombian retained his speech and says he received support on social media: “I have a community that supports me.”