JerryRigEverything, known for his Teardown reviews and skin collab with dbrand, has filed a federal lawsuit against Casetify, a company valued at close to a billion dollars, accusing them of copyright infringement. The lawsuit alleges that Casetify, known for its range of phone cases, has been stealing tear-down designs from the Youtuber and his partner, dbrand.
How It Started
The controversy began when twitter user @OreXda tagged dbrand saying that Casetify selling a Samsung Galaxy S23 phone case featuring iPhone internals, with all their products utilizing the same iPhone image. This led to a playful exchange on Twitter, but matters escalated when Casetify introduced a new product line called “Inside Out,” which the YouTuber claims is built on copied tear-down designs.
dbrand: Copy and Pastify
What ultimately convinced Zack, dbrand, and frankly us, is the “easter eggs” that are unique to the tear-down skins copy pasted on Casetify’s Inside Out skins. Phrases, references to dbrand’s history, and specific design elements found on Casetify’s products allegedly mirror those from dbrand’s tear-down skins. In the video, Zack showed and explained each easter egg found on both Teardown and Inside Out skins using a Galaxy S23 Case with Inside Out skin from Casetify. The first easter egg is one of Zack’s signature phrase “Glass is glass and glass breaks”. Second is the “R0807” text which is a reference to dbrand’s “ROBOTS”. Lastly, the “11.11” text which marks dbrand’s inception.
Dbrand went a step further to conduct an experiment, overlaying their Macbook tear-down design onto Casetify’s Macbook Inside Out skin. The result, according to the JerryRigEverything, was that every product failed the plagiarism test, suggesting that Casetify did not independently create their tear-down designs but instead replicated dbrand’s intricate work.
Fueled by the alleged infringement, the YouTuber and dbrand have taken legal action by officially filing a federal lawsuit against Casetifyfor copyright infringement the day before JerryRigEverything’s video went up. The video emphasizes the significance of the lawsuit, positing that the potential financial implications for Casetify could serve as a deterrent for future intellectual property theft.
JerryRigEverything, while acknowledging that lawsuits are not cheap, underscores that the motivation behind the lawsuit is not financial gain. Instead, aims to send a message about the importance of respecting intellectual property and discourage others from engaging in similar practices. As this legal battle unfolds, it raises questions about the ethical standards of billion-dollar corporations and the impact of such lawsuits on the tech industry. The accused company, Casetify, has yet to respond publicly to the allegations.
Watch JerryRigEverything’s video here:
Grant is a Financial Management graduate from UST. His passion for gadgets and tech crossed him over in the industry where he could apply his knowledge as an enthusiast and in-depth analytic skills as a Finance Major. His passion allows him to earn at the same time help Gadget Pilipinas' readers in making smart, value-based decisions and purchases with his reviews and guides.
