In response to Apple Computer’s lawsuit against Mac news Web site Think Secret, the dePlume Organization LLC — the site’s owner — today filed a special motion in California Superior Court, Santa Clara County, requesting a dismissal of Apple’s suit under the California Anti-SLAPP Statute.
Court filings from Think Secret’s motion are available for download in PDF format here.
“Apple’s lawsuit is a affront to the First Amendment, and an attempt to use Apple’s economic power to intimidate small journalists,” Think Secret says in the court filings. “If a publication such as the New York Times had published such information, it would be called good journalism; Apple never would have considered a lawsuit.”
Declarations were submitted from prominent journalism experts Professor Thomas Goldstein and Dan Gillmor, demonstrating how Apple’s lawsuit violates the First Amendment.
Apple filed suit against the dePlume Organization LLC and Think Secret’s editor on January 4. Apple’s lawsuit is intended to shutter the news reporting efforts of a Web site that since 1998 has been the Internet’s top source for news scoops about Apple and the Mac.
(Note: Apple’s lawsuit against Think Secret is separate from its “John Doe” suit, where it did not sue any journalists, but instead sought information through subpoenas to three Mac news Web sites concerning a product code-named “Asteroid”; Think Secret has done no original reporting on Asteroid. In contrast, Apple’s suit against the dePlume Organization seeks damages from Think Secret, a news organization.)
Think Secret is represented by Terry Gross of Gross & Belsky LLP, a lawyer who has been at the center of Internet law since the early days of the net. His San Francisco-based general practice, public interest law firm engages in a range of distinctive work, including media, constitutional, and intellectual property law. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, as well as several other civil liberties organizations, was instrumental in helping Think Secret find legal representation.
More info at ThinkSecret here.
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ThinkSecret’s Ciarelli gains pro bono legal help in defense of Apple lawsuit – January 19, 2005
ThinkSecret’s Nick Ciarelli says he can’t afford to defend himself against Apple lawsuit – January 15, 2005
Harvard Student and ThinkSecret owner Nick Ciarelli faces Apple’s legal wrath over product ‘leaks’ – January 13, 2005
Stop the presses! Apple sues ThinkSecret over ‘Headless Mac,’ ‘iWork,’ and other rumors – January 05, 2005