“A case that could jeopardize the right of journalists to protect the confidentiality of sources and give companies more legal leeway to track down supposed leaks of trade secrets is now in the hands of a state appeals court. Apple Computer Inc. faced tough questions before a three-judge panel of the 6th District Court of Appeal on Thursday as it argued its case seeking to identify the sources who leaked confidential information about an unreleased product to online media outlets in 2004,” May Wong reports for The Associated Press.
“Apple contended the unidentified sources _ presumed to be company employees _ violated its trade secrets. It subpoenaed the Internet service providers of three online journalists to turn over e-mail records to uncover the possible sources. A lower court last year ruled in Apple’s favor but the Electronic Frontier Foundation, whose attorneys represent the online journalists of AppleInsider.com, PowerPage.org and MacNN.com appealed,” Wong reports. “The appellate panel in San Jose questioned Apple’s stance, including its claim that the published diagrams of the unreleased music-related product code-named ‘Asteroid’ amounted to a trade secret. ‘t’s just a picture of a product, why is that a trade secret?’ asked presiding Judge Conrad Rushing. ‘This is just plugging a guitar into a computer.’ George Riley, an attorney representing the Cupertino-based maker of Macintosh computers and iPod media players, countered there were some technical details included with the diagrams, and argued the information leak constituted ‘a very serious theft.’ ‘The First Amendment is not supposed to be a shield for a journalist to shield criminal activity,’ Riley said.”
“The three online media outlets involved in the case all focus on Apple-oriented news and are part of the popular world of blogs. But members of the mainstream media, including The Associated Press, weighed in as well, submitting court briefs asking that the online publishers be allowed to keep their sources confidential. Apple’s lawsuit, filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court in late 2004, does not directly sue the three media outlets but rather 25 unnamed individuals called “Does” who presumably were Apple employees with access to the as-yet unreleased product,” Wong reports. “The appellate panel has up to 90 days to issue a ruling.”
Full article here.
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Related articles:
San Jose court to hear Apple ‘Asteriod’ case, weigh in on bloggers’ rights – April 17, 2006
Apple wins initial ruling in ‘Asteroid’ case, can pursue publishers’ confidential sources – March 04, 2005
Apple suspends legal action against three journalists – February 17, 2005
Stop the presses! Apple sues ThinkSecret over ‘Headless Mac,’ ‘iWork,’ and other rumors – January 05, 2005
Apple Computer sues three for posting Mac OS X ‘Tiger’ on Web – December 21, 2004
Apple sues anonymous people over leak of unreleased Apple product info on Web – December 17, 2004
RUMOR: Apple preps analog to FireWire audio device for GarageBand users – November 23, 2004
RS:
If this were not a free society, me and my band of jack-booted thugs would hunt you down with impunity for posting such inflammatory comments. Nevertheless, here you are expressing your thoughts without a worry in the world. You can say whatever comes to mind and go to sleep at night with the calm assurance that you can do it all over again tomorrow. So, please, feel free to vent, whine, complain, and whimper to your heart’s content.
Perhaps a free society to you means not having to live up to your legal or moral obligations. Or maybe a free society to you means a place where a caste system of legal exclusivists and exclusionists lecture about morality to the rest of us.
What happened with ThinkSecret (Nick dePlume)? Was that one dismissed or settled?
To Andrew….
It’s been more than two years since iPod’s have hit the market and competitors still can’t come up with a knockoff that’ll take away market share and they have actual hardware to work with and dissect. What makes you think they can do any better with nothing more than a rudimentary drawing?
“If this is an example of the quality of education in United States . . . “
If your retorts are an example of the quality of education in your country, then it’s clear that your educators are selling you out by teaching $20 words so that you can express your measly two cents worth of drivel.
Flame on, angry man.
RS…
“something the right-wing US is looking less and less like nowadays”…
Stop… you’re killin me, ouch. I’m laughing so hard my side hurts!!
Good joke. ahhhh…. ok. Now I’m fine.
here comes the judge:
If words have pecuniary value, as you suggest, you owe every reader here money for wasting their time reading your posts. I know that I feel a bit nauseous and a tad grimy after reading your thoughts.
Judgement Day is Coming:
At least I have thoughts.
You, on the other hand, have mindless word drool.
here comes the judge:
If thought is the labor of intellect, understanding, and reasoning I would have to conclude you are mentally unemployed.
Judgement Day = Constipation of the brain. Diarrhea of the mouth.
here comes the judge:
Thanks again for proving my point. I admire your persistence, although this hardly makes amends for your complete idiocy.