Apple Sues Daewoo Over iMac Look-Alike

Apple Computer Inc. accused Daewoo Telecom Co. and a joint-venture company it supports of copying the design of its iMac personal computer. Apple sued to stop Daewoo Telecom Co. and the other company from selling, marketing or advertising the new $799 E-Power PC, which is scheduled to go on sale in September.

Like the more expensive iMac, E-Power is an all-in-one, teardrop-shaped computer with rounded edges and a smooth, translucent case that comes in five colors. Future Power Inc., a joint venture financed by Daewoo Telecom, a unit of South Korean conglomerate Daewoo Group, unveiled the iMac look-alike last month at a PC exposition in New York.

The suit, filed Thursday in federal court in San Jose, seeks a court order requiring that the new E-Power machines be turned over to be destroyed. It also seeks actual and punitive damages.

A spokeswoman for Santa Clara, Calif.-based Future Power said the firm would not comment until it had seen a copy of the suit. A Daewoo spokesman could not be reached.

Shares of Apple, based in Cupertino, Calif., fell $1 to close at $45.31 on Nasdaq.