If you got a fake one, report it to Customs and Border Protection, along with as much info as you have about the path by which it reached you. They seize and destroy crap like this regularly.[1] Call 1-866-999-HALT, or see "stopfakes.gov". Mention the forged UL symbol. Also report that to UL.[2] Their report form accepts pictures.

UL puts effort into power supplies. This has been a problem with desktop machines for years. Gamer sites which review power supplies note that UL-rated power supplies don't burn out or blow up. That's because UL tests them by loading them up to their specified output with a resistor bank and running them for a few days at 100% load. They also test the overload-shutdown features. There are many low-end desktop power supplies which will not deliver their nameplate output continuously, or at all.

[1] http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/13/us-customs-seize-35k-in-count... [2] http://ul.com/customer-resources/market-surveillance-departm...

I got a third party charger in Europe. It doesn't have any apple logo, but is otherwise a complete copy, design wise. It doesn't have any UL logo, though.

They often ship these directly from HK. They also create many different temporary companies to stay one step ahead of law enforcement, plus the Chinese government is less invested in stopping it to begin with.

I'm not a lawyer, but there's also trademark violation, trafficking in counterfeit goods (USC § 2320) and violation of the UL's service mark, not to mention plain old fraud.

Plus the CE mark is very illegal if any of those make it to Europe.

Actually it is not. The CE mark is the producers guarantee that the product lives up the the European safety standards and it is the producers job to download and print the logo.

You cannot officially be CE certified by a third party, but once you slap on that logo you are very liable if you don't live up to the standard.

Citation needed

It's cute that you think a counterfeit manufacturer gives a damn about US law.

If they're designing potentially unsafe equipment, I promise you that trademark law wouldn't warrant a first thought, let alone a second.

I'm actually thinking about the reseller and where the customer stand.

And I'd appreciate if you leave out the condescending tone.

Why is it the customer's and reseller's responsibility to determine if a manufacturer has properly licensed some patent/trademark/etc.?

If I buy something and I find the quality poor, I should have made a better purchasing choice.

If I buy something and I find out it was illegally on the market place then I can complain to the seller and get my money back (in theory)

Manufacturers of garbage don't care about patents. The sheer volume of this crap is next to impossible to police by people charged with doing so.

> Manufacturers of garbage don't care about patents

That doesn't mean I don't think it's interesting to know.

Given they probably operate out of China, I reckon they couldn't care less. :)

Not every country has an interest in enforcing US trademark law. Also, some interpretations of US trademark law can often be seen as excessive and/or hostile by other (western) countries.

They are illegal in most western countries which is why you can only get them from small time shady suppliers or direct from China.