Is this Arduino MEGA 2560 R3 a counterfeit?

[NotForth]

Now that I am checking, I fear this "Arduino MEGA 2560 R3 by Arduino " from Amazon and CanaKit is also a counterfeit. It looks very similar to the photograph here, says MADE IN ITALY and has the ARDUINO TM MEGA logo. But I found some differences in the component side silk screen and circuit board, relative to the photograph here.
Differences compared to the photo here:
On the board I received, the voltage regulator pins are labeled 1 2 3.
The USB converter chip has a 1 next to the first pin.
The four holes between the USB chip and the six pin header near AREF are not tinned.
The zeros in some but not all of the header label numbers such as "A0" or "A10" or "SDA20" do not have diagonal bars through them.

In addition, on the white noncomponent side, the map of Italy looks different from the photo here. The northern border is a smooth arc with no indentations in Lombardy or other features, and the Apulia peninsula is wider than Sicily.

Can I conclude this is counterfeit? Meaning, not open source clone, but flat-out trademark infringing counterfeit?

Can I do anything about it other than yell at Amazon and write a nasty review that they won't print? Maybe donate the damn thing to a lawsuit for evidence or something?

Note I stopped buying from Amazon and just placed an order on this web site yesterday. I am only now making discoveries about things I ordered before my education happened.

[retrolefty]

Can I conclude this is counterfeit? Meaning, not open source clone, but flat-out trademark infringing counterfeit?

Counterfeit? No as I don't think it's possible to 'counterfeit a board design that was published and released as open source. People/companies are free to manufacture and sell clones based on the released docs.

Trademark infringement? Almost certainly and that is limit of any 'illegality' involved.

Can I do anything about it other than yell at Amazon and write a nasty review that they won't print? Maybe donate the damn thing to a lawsuit for evidence or something?

Probably not, as you most likely have no legal standing to sue for trademark infringement. I would think only the Arduino 'company' could peruse such action. But then maybe Amazon could be charged with misleading advertising by allowing the offer to be placed on their site, assuming you could prove they were aware of the trademark infringement from the supplier?


Note I stopped buying from Amazon and just placed an order on this web site yesterday. I am only now making discoveries about things I ordered before my education happened.

I just wanted to be clear that making and selling clones of open sourced hardware designs is not in itself illegal or even immoral. But clearly using someone else's registered trademarks and brand names is.

Lefty

[Coding Badly]

Trademark infringement? Almost certainly and that is limit of any 'illegality' involved.

There are two other ways Amazon may be liable...

1. One of the 2560s listed on Amazon has "Made in Italy" printed on the board.  It's my understanding that misrepresenting the country of origin violates federal law and the product can be seized and destroyed by customs.

2. In general, the Arduino folks are very liberal with copyrighted material.  However, the product page for the 2560 only includes "©Arduino".  One of the Amazon resellers is clearly using the images from that page.  It's my understanding that violates the copyright law.

I highly doubt the Arduino folks will bring action against Amazon; that just isn't their way.  I mention those two things because it may give you, @NotForth, leverage over Amazon.

[Coding Badly]

What you can do...

http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ContactUs
Search for "Trademark Violations".  It's close to the bottom.

If you believe the "Made in Italy" board was not actually made in Italy (e.g. shipped from Szechuan) you could try reporting it to the Federal Government.  I believe this is the right form...
https://apps.cbp.gov/eallegations/

Stop doing business with Amazon (obviously  )

[cmiyc]

Everyone is quick to blame Amazon.  Amazon isn't the seller.

Anyone can sell through Amazon.  You need to go after the actual seller.

[Coding Badly]

Fair enough.

What you can do...
Stop doing business with companies that sell Arduino trademarked boards through Amazon.

[retrolefty]

Everyone is quick to blame Amazon.  Amazon isn't the seller.

Anyone can sell through Amazon.  You need to go after the actual seller.

Similar to a lot of E-bay rants blaming the site for poor products or dishonest sellers.

Lefty

[NotForth]

I found the following sentence on www.massimobanzi.com, near the top of the page: "Arduino users should beware of Amazon.com, they list Arduinos as provided by CanaKit (a legitimate distributor that does a great job) but when they ship they will send anything other "sellers" have listed as Arduino." Therefore, it IS Amazon that we should blame, right? The seller listed has no control over it.

I'd sure like to know who is at fault and who isn't. I live by intellectual property rights and don't want to support Amazon if - IF - they are trampling those rights. But it would be terrible to blame them for the faults of others.

[Osgeld]

Everyone is quick to blame Amazon.  Amazon isn't the seller.

Anyone can sell through Amazon.  You need to go after the actual seller.

well thats good to know I wanted to setup a website targeted to children that sells crack via a third party, since I am not the one selling it, its all good right?

ebay is a classifieds ad, amazon is not, its a mall, they just can't throw up their hands and shrug it off (neither can ebay really)

[cmiyc]

but when they ship they will send anything other "sellers" have listed as Arduino."

No, that is not true.  Amazon will only sell from the seller you select.  However, the non-authorized sellers are linked from the CanaKit page.  This is the same for all Amazon products.  So it wouldn't take much to order from the "wrong" seller.

If you click "Add to Cart" on the page that is stated "Sold by CanaKit" then product will be fulfilled from CanaKit's stock.  If the buyer selects another vendor from "more buying choices" then that's the inventory that will be used to fulfill the order (assuming Amazon is still doing the fulfillment.)

So yes, Amazon needs to be addressed along with the actual seller.  Amazon does need to take responsibility for the sellers that are misrepresenting products and correct/remove those listings. 

[gschelotto]

I've recently identified an Arduino MEGA 2560 counterfeit labeled as 'R3'. Here's an image comparison between original and counterfeit boards

regards,
gaston