“There are some things I hate about Apple. Topping the list is its propensity to shut out reporters who have a habit of breaking news the Mac maker doesn’t like. Last week, a California court agreed to hear a case in which Apple’s lawyers are pressing a blogger to reveal the source of a leak. Here’s the background: In 2004, rumor sites PowerPage and AppleInsider reported that Apple would release a device that would allow musicians to plug analog gear directly into a Mac to take advantage of the GarageBand composing software. Apparently furious with the leak, Apple filed suit. Its subpoena seeks to unmask the unnamed sources referenced in published stories,” Tim Beyers writes for The Motley Fool. “Welcome to the 1970s. Here’s your reservation to the Watergate. Please enjoy your stay; just don’t make a ruckus while you’re here. And don’t go talking to anyone named Woodward or Bernstein, please.”
Beyers writes, “Not that I’m unsympathetic to the idea of Apple or others protecting their trade secrets, but breaking a story about a product in development without revealing exactly how to build that product — as the bloggers did — doesn’t exactly strike me as corporate espionage. It’s just . . . news. What’s more, this is hardly the first time Apple has played the bully when it comes to leaks. Does anyone else remember MacWEEK? Long before AppleInsider, PowerPage, ThinkSecret, and others like them, MacWEEK was earnings enemies at Apple for breaking stories about forthcoming products. It also published lots of rumors. But now that the journalistic gesticulating has fled from the pages of ink-stained weeklies to the URLs of digital dailies, the rights of writers have suddenly eroded? Un-freaking-believable.”
Full article here.
Advertisements:
• Get the new iMac with Intel Core Duo for as low as $31 A MONTH with Free shipping!
• Get the MacBook Pro with Intel Core Duo for as low as $47 A MONTH with Free Shipping!
• Apple’s new Mac mini. Intel Core, up to 4 times faster. Starting at just $599. Free shipping.
• Apple’s brand new iPod Hi-Fi speaker system. Home stereo. Reinvented. Available now for $349 with free shipping.
• iPod. 15,000 songs. 25,000 photos. 150 hours of video. The new iPod. 30GB and 60GB models start at just $299. Free shipping.
• Connect iPod to your television set with the iPod AV Cable. Just $19.
• iPod Radio Remote. Listen to FM radio on your iPod and control everything with a convenient wired remote. Just $49.
Related articles:
Apple questioned in ‘Asteroid’ trade secrets case – April 20, 2006
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
Why can’t the bloggers just let Apple release their stuff when they want to? Why do they have to steal Apple’s thunder? If Apple wants to keep their stuff secret then it’s their right.
hahaha.. apple has always been anal about stuff like this. but i really dont care. as long as they keep making great products
If online journalists want to keep their sources secret then it’s their right.
I agree, Apple doesn’t need to focus so strongly on this kind of crap. It would be much better if instead they focused on the reaction to said rumor, and then make the friggin’ thing if it gets a strong reaction.
It is sites like this that feed the need for rumors. Honestly, I’m glad Apple is getting kicked on this one. It will allow for more overall freedom of reporting by the web journalists.
The sites in question, are not some kid making things up. They are ones that we as Mac fans have been looking to for details on up coming products.
It is a dual edged sword for Apple. They have this incredable fan base. What other computer manufacturer or manufacture for that matter has a fan base like this? On the other hand, the fan base needs to be fed. The appitite for information for Apple related information and tidbits of future information is what is driving the fan base.
Apple needs the fan base. They should not try to kill it.
Magic Word: police as in… Apple really shouldn’t try to police the internet. (leave that to George W Bush)
How does Magic work know what I’m going to say?!?
Bloggers aren’t real journalists… most of these bozos just recycle news that REAL news sources go out and GET. Hence, they’re not protected. It may be “news” but blogs aren’t real “news” sources…
Moe:
I agree totally. Apple has every right to file a lawsuit and let a judge decide. Apple is being proactive about what it feels is a serious issue. This has become a childish cat and mouse game with these bloggers. They cry like freakin little girls when they don’t get their way. Pathetic.
WTF?? If an idiot can file a suit for spilling hot McDonalds coffee on their dumb ass…..
Letter to Motley Fool:
Dear Sirs, Your analysis is absolutely wrong.
“Unlike the whistleblower who discloses a health, safety, or welfare hazard affecting all, or the government employee who reveals mismanagement or worse by our public officials, (the Macintosh news sites) are doing nothing more than feeding the public’s insatiable desire for information.”
“With all due respect, this is silly. Not that I’m unsympathetic
to the idea of Apple or others protecting their trade secrets”
You are calling the opinion of a Superior Court judge silly.
How are you qualified to make this statement?
Apple has a responsibility to its shareholders to protect its trade secrets.
Your analysis is so far off base that
I can no longer be a Motley Fool subscriber.
I am canceling my MF accounts and email subscriptions. Sincerely, RL
Why can’t the bloggers just let Apple release their stuff when they want to? Why do they have to steal Apple’s thunder? If Apple wants to keep their stuff secret then it’s their right.
—
This behavior is GOING to happen, but I must say, it punishes innovative companies like Apple, and benefits companies like Dell. The result is all companies decide to act like Dell.
When you get a patent, the information is simultaneously public, yet you hold the rights to usage of such information.
The problem here is the bloggers are making Apple’s secrets public, before Apple can claim any protection over such rights.
The Watergate stuff is just stupid–if Dell came up with original ideas, you’d hear it from them…same goes for Microsoft. In a country that champions individuality and innovation, this is how we treat the innovators?
What is the definition of journalism? When any bonehead with a blog can claim to be a journalist.
It’s my opinion that Apple clamps down so hard on unannounced product leaks because often the official announcement accounts for most of the advertisement of said product. Or at least the first big push down the hill before the media finishes the job. So for all you “Apple doesn’t advertise enough/correctly” folks…
…here’s your sign.
Recently moved to N.C. Steadily becoming a redneck.
The question here is that who is considered a journalist and whos not. If every pimple faced teen who keeps a blog is considered as one then god help us all! The line has to be drawn somewhere.
Dear idiots at Motley Fool’s
Go home, eat dinner out and take in a movie. While at the movie house stand up and yell “Oh MY GOD, HE’s GOT A BOMB!!!”
See how far you get.
Folks, Please consider a company like a family.
Would you want your family problems, ideas, and other assorted stuff aired to the pulblic, friends, or enemies?! It is like the Sun or what ever the current name for the trash mags.
Yes, the report is a right, but when does a right come at a price to others.
When you release a companies products before they do, you steal a lot of money-Marketing, competion, etc all get a head start.
It is wrong, for all the jouralist out their, if you want to release somebodys info why not ask your friends to dig up info on you and release it. Like bounced checks, money spent at clubs, and where/when you went out and with whom.
It may start to strike home then.
Example: The politicians complantions about windfalls of the oil companies and how they should declose0-have you seen any of these politicans list the amount of tax on gas? Stuff we buy? No-only others….because they do not want there dirt out in the open.
Same with news-they do not disclose there profits, news, and fight otherwise for their privcy.
I can’t believe people are STILL bellyaching about this.
Trade secrets were revealed. They want to know who did it. This is certainly within their rights to do so. Stop whining about it. There are FAR more important privacy and individual rights issues that need to be resolved than something as stupid as this.
I disagreed with Apple’s legal actions until someone mentioned two things: NDA and Microsoft.
NDA
The information leaked regarding Asteroid was not a rumour, guess or wishful thinking (like the move to Intel rumoured for years) but release to a blog of information received under a signed, legal non-disclosure agreement. It is a fully legal issue in writing that has been broken. If you can’t or won’t keep a NDA then don’t sign it – hang around in techy bars instead.
Microsoft
Apple has had 30 years of disclosing developer information to Microsoft and its friends only to find them release a ‘kludge’ version or pre-announce that the feature will be ‘in the next version’. This would be hugely frustrating to a company who waits until a product is perfect (as humanly possible) before shipping.
People seem to be confusing rumours and opinion with deliberate leaks. Today, in technology, time to market is money. And being first isn’t enough – you must be first with the right product (see the failing movie offerings).
Sheesh, you’d think we got hit by an asteroid. Oh wait. Never mind.
Apple wasn’t attacking the reporters, the reporters or bloggers if you will, were attacking Apple by releasing Apple’s trade secrets.
There are many reporters and bloggers out there that just don’t get this. It is not all about ‘Freedom of the Press’, it’s all about ‘Industrial Espionage’.
Hit the reporters or bloggers with a bill for lost income because of the published leak and they might understand where Apple is coming from.
Somebody broke the agreed upon NDA. The culprit needs to be found. Since the information was acquired illegally, then the story is not protected.
Similarly, a lawyer cannot testify against his/her client except under extremely unusual circumstances. If s/he does, s/he goes to jail and loses her/his admittance to the Bar.
Now, if the story was deduced from other bits of info or acquired from a legally protected source, the situation changes.
Who here remembers when Tom Clancy had to report to the gov’nt about some of the stuff in his books. He was hitting too close to home and they wanted to know who was tipping him off. He proved that all of his info was available from public sources and he just made deductions.
Double standards, anyone ?
Our blog sources should be confidential. Apple’s proprietary trade secrets, on the other hand, shoudl nto be confidential.
Another looser trolling for hits…
Read Daring Fireball’s much more interesting analysis of the case instead.
I like those little candies you get at Halloween. You know, those little things? They’re shaped like little teepees and they’re orange and yellow and white. Yep, I love ’em. Yaah, candycorns, I think. Mmmmmmm. Pure sugar. I love those little things. I can eat a whole 5 lb. bag full in about 4 minutes.
I love candy.
If a blogger/News source gets their information from someone who has broken their NDA, then that source is a criminal source. Apple should have the right to determine who has violated their NDA’s.
It’s one thing to speculate, and to post rumors and flights of fancy. We all do that. But it’s quite another to encourage people “in the know” (aka apple employees) to break their contracts. Apple’s trade secrets and timely announcements are a vital part of staying competitive in the market. It’s not a laughing matter. NDA’s exist for a reason.
I’ve purchased, and read nearly every Motley Fool book published, and used many of their techniques over the years. They’re a fine company with many innovative contributors who expect to be paid for their ideas. Because that is their product.
I would wager they’d be up in arms if someone (an insider) released their product (ideas) without permission. The parallel is not exact, yet in both cases, an untimed, uncoordinated release of information diminishes the value of each’s products.
It’s important to respect a creator’s method and delivery of product release.
“People go for help, but their lives don’t get better because of those blogs. They get worse. They feel numb and they’re told that’s a good thing. It’s how you degrade a society — by blogging the piss out of it.”
You don’t understand the history of blogs, MDN. I do.
Do you know why writers don’t cover Apple?
Because if there is the least bit anything “anti-Apple” MDN sends legions of mindless emailing fools to harrase a perfectly good writer.
I am ashamed at the level of immaturity displayed in these posts. Truly MacDailyNews is the bottom of the Macintosh cultist barrel.
If I ran a resturant I would put poogoo in all your food and piss in your coffee. I’m not really who you think I am. But it was fun fooling you all anyway.
Sincerly
Tom
Hi I’m Tom Cruise… you may know me from such movies like “I harbor a alien lifeform in my body” and “Coocoon”. But I would like to tell you that I’m actually a Thean being from space and this body is nothing but a empty animal husk.
Soon spaceships will be coming for me and taking my Scientology freaks with me. So I need to give everything to Bill Gates because he’s the evil of this world and everything belongs to him.
Holy Mackerel and The Other Mark have it right. This information was obtained illegally through a broken NDA or espionage, probably the NDA. The rumor sites were wrong to publish it. Just because someone hands you something doesn’t mean it’s public domain.
Someone at Apple commiteed a crime when the leaked this information. They broke their NDA and Apple deserves to terminate and prosecute this individual. I hope they do.
The bottom line is that the people who LEAK product information are Apple Employees, Contractors or Supplier who are under LEGAL (not the word LEGAL) Non-Disclosure agreements. Sorry friends, this is a contract and violation has stiff penalties.
Why are these people in the press always idiots. Why can’t the they see that Apple is the underdog against MAFIASOFT!!!!! All those M$ lemming idiots in the press who slurp up every fart the come out Bill F’n Gates ass?????
Yeahh you! jerk BEYERS
What an ass!
Dear Mr Beyers,
How would you feel if every time you want to publish one of your “original” articles in your stupip paper……
…your “original” article would appear in evry blog out there?
YOU WOULD BE OUT OF A JOB SOON — Grow a brain YOU STUPID ASS!
Sincerely
Guys. I’m sorry. I leaked the asteroid dealie plans to the bloggers. I just really wanted to be in the news again.
I’m so so so sorry. I feel awful for appleinsider and those guys.
Bill Gates.
P.S. I am really Bill Gates
Hi folks,
I realize this is a galvanizing issue and I understand and appreciate the passion you’ve displayed here. (Well, all except for that guy who, in pretending to be me, tossed a few misspelled insults at MacDailyNews, which is a fine site.)
My point remains, however. I don’t think you can honestly call what PowerPage and AppleInsider did industrial espionage. No one was given plans for how to build Asteroid.
And, not for nothing, but Apple has for years depended on media to “leak” news about products for which it wanted added publicity. (Anyone remember the floating iMac on the cover of Time?) But it wants it both ways; the media can do its job, but only if Steve approves? Sorry, but that’s just ludicrous.
Foolish best,
Tim
TMFMileHigh
Product release plans ARE trade secrets. Not just “how to build it.”
ANYBODY can start a blog.
So if bloggers are journalists, everyone is a journalist. And if it’s OK for bloggers to publish trade secrets, then it’s OK for anyone to do it.
Dear Roberto,
…I stand by my story. If Apple’s trade secrets
were in any way endangered by the blog, then I could see a case to be
made. A leak just doesn’t qualify, especially when the double-standard
doesn’t apply in the other direction. For example, should
AppleInsider be able to sue Apple if the company leaks information that proves to be erroneous and harmful to that blog’s reputation? No, of course not.
– – –
Dear Tim,
Your response below is over-simplistic and trivializes Apple’s
situation.
#1. Apple did not sue AppleInsider, they only subpoenaed their ISP. . .
#2. Because potentially a serious breach of contract occurred when
someone broke their NDA, a legally binding contract.
#3. YOU ARE IN NO POSITION TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT APPLE, ITS FUTURE SALES AND ITS SHAREHOLDERS MIGHT HAVE BEEN DAMAGED BY THE DISCLOSURE OF APPLE’S TRADE SECRETS. APPLE WAS NOT FURIOUS.
THEY HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO PROTECT THEIR INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY FROM THEIR COMPETITORS PRYING EYES.
So you really need to do more research next time…
– – –
Dear Roberto,
Thanks for writing back, I appreciate it.
Funny you shoulod call my argument over-simplistic for that’s exactly how I believe yours comes across. With due respect, I have to believe Apple’s IP is far more than a paragraph in a news story. And freedom of the press has always come with a price. Sometimes, that price is leaks.
Bottom line: More research isn’t the problem…It’s a matter of
disagreement between two parties. That’s a good sign in my business and I thank you for sharing your opinion.
“Because if there is the least bit anything “anti-Apple” MDN sends legions of mindless emailing fools to harrase a perfectly good writer.’
MDN doesn’t send them Tim, people do it on their own, and not always in the way it should be done. What the Mac legions hate is misinformation, not criticism. If people in the media would get the facts right, more than half of these Mac Attacks would never take place.
Oh and Tim, product plans are indeed part of trade secrets including release dates and marketing strategies. Just because they didnt release a motherboard schematic doesn’t mean it isn’t industrial espionage.
You are off base there my friend. And what I also don’t get is why the media is screaming about how Apple is beating up on teh ‘poor defenseless bloggers’ when all they really want is information about the employee who leaked it.
For the last time, Tim, someone signed a contract not to leak info then broke the contract and did it.
Apple wants to know who it is so they can be fired or removed before they leak even more secrets.
Why do you have such a problem with this??
You know what else? Cheez-Its. Yaah. I love Cheez-Its. I can eat a whole box of those things without ever leaving the kitchen. I mean, really, just take the box out of the cupboard, open it up, and stand there and just eat every single one of them. Just lookin’ at the clock, standing right there, eatin’ and eatin’ . . . Mmmmm.
Man, I love food.
So where the hell is the Asteroid audio interface?
I’ve been eagerly waiting and waiting.
Was this a real leak or a fake leak to find the leakers?
I think I’m gonna buy that f*ckin’ Kellogg’s company.
Get me all the g*ddamn Cheez-Its I f*ckin’ want!
The premise here is wrong. Apple shouldn’t be thought of as Nixonian — it’s more like Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.
Old Slugworth would give his front teeth for five minutes alone in there.
Why ruin the surprise?
Hey, I just posted a comment… get me! I’m a journalist! Gimme my “rights”, man!
The vast majority of all blogs are equivalent to the meanderings on sh*thouse walls. That doesn’t make a Woodward. Or hell, even a Bernstein.
“They cry like freakin little girls when they don’t get their way. Pathetic.”
I find it quite appropriate that “they” is ambiguous in this sentence. Apple or the bloggers?
“Double standards, anyone ?
Our blog sources should be confidential. Apple’s proprietary trade secrets, on the other hand, shoudl nto be confidential.”
That makes no sense. No one is trying to *force* Apple to divulge trade secrets.
“The question here is that who is considered a journalist and whos not. If every pimple faced teen who keeps a blog is considered as one then god help us all! The line has to be drawn somewhere.”
If a line has to be drawn, I would rather it be based on a person’s actions (e.g. writing a regular column for a web site) than on age and skin condition.
IF ONLY people were as up-in-arms over the president’s leaks and the reclassification of documents that have been declassified for decades.
Begin Transmission:
Tom Cruise –
Your work in this plane of existence is complete. The 3 billion dollars you have paid to The Church Of Scientology has now granted you access to a higher level of non-being. Please report to The Church Of Scientology Headquarters in Clearwater, Florida where your final payment will be accepted and you will then be unburdened from your body.
Please connect with the links HERE and [url=”
]http://www.lisamcpherson.org/”]HERE[/url] for final instructions.
End Of Transmission:
I jotted down a note,
Upon the bathroom stall.
An explicit little ditty,
And, man, I told it all.
I spared no gory detail,
Pertaining to my tryst.
Like Woodward, Payne, and Prentice,
I am a journalist.
No secret will be hidden,
Your privacy, be damned.
Your life is mine, you chump.
I’ve got you in my hands.
Spare me your cries for fairness.
The words that I may twist.
Like Woodward, Payne, and Prentice,
I am a journalist.
I need no one’s permission,
To write what comes to mind.
I am the great anointed,
The saviour of mankind.
The truth as I define it,
Is the truth that will persist.
Like Woodward, Payne, and Prentice,
I am a journalist.
The definition’s fuzzy,
For journalist, I’m told.
I’ll define it for you,
If I may be so bold.
It’s anything I want it,
Dissent is summarily dismissed.
Like Woodward, Payne, and Prentice,
I am a journalist.
We will define our status,
We will remain aloof,
So hit the road, you bastards,
I’ve given you the proof.
Now go, I’m tired of you,
Depart my presence, I insist.
Like Woodward, Payne, and Prentice,
I am a journalist.
The public has no comment,
The public has no say,
The public won’t define us,
The public has no stay.
A pen and paper only,
Make me the perfect snitch.
Like Woodward, Payne, and Prentice,
I am a journalist.
Everybody has a reason,
A need to make a buck,
And if a need a nickel,
Buddy, you are fucked.
The First Amendment, bless it,
It’s the reason I exist.
Like Woodward, Payne, and Prentice,
I am a journalist.
I won’t make excuses,
For the things I do.
I obey a higher calling,
“Nothing is taboo.”
I agree with Mr Beyers.
I disagree with botvinnik.
Begin Transmission:
Tom Cruise’s Lawyers had me banned in the U.K.
End of Transmission:
“The Motley Fool has an ironclad disclosure policy.”
Funny!
Hello to all the MDN readers! I am Quentin Hubbard, son of the late L. Ron Hubbard – the founder of Scientology.
I hear Tom Cruise is now frequenting this site. I am very excited to hear this as he can now help lead you in the way you should go.
Well, being L. Ron Hubbard’s son is a busy job so I must be going now. If you want to contact me you can do so [url=”
Here]http://www.scientology-kills.org/personal_pgs/hubbard_q/dead.htm”]Here[/url]
My personal thanks to Tom for all the great work he has done evangelizing Scientology.
In my line of work, I receive publication manuscripts and research grant proposals for review. If I were to leak information on yet unpublished research or ideas, I would be shunned within my scientific community, and rightly so. People who feed rumour mills with confidential information are not protected by any law of journalism.
There are other similes, for instance when a private video or privat photographs of a prominent person are stolen or hacked and published by tabloids or celeb websites. This is not protected journalism either, as long as these videos do not reveal information in which the public has a justifiable interest, such as criminal activities or blatant discrepancies with that celebrity’s public stance or statements.
In short, this whole protection of journalism blabla is crock in this case. Somebody violated a contractual obligation, the information was obtained illegaly therefore, and the source must be named. Period. Get over it, all you self-appointed journalists.
You morons live in a privileged world. Get a fucking clue before you start banging your drum and acting so fucking holier than thou
I wonder why Apple is worried about leaks. They don´t have to be worried about losing any current customers because Steve could bring out the worst product ever and the Apple faithful would buy it, watch it break and they would blame somebody else, even themselves, for its faults.
Interesting, Motley Fool has an “ironclad” disclosure policy. If someone at the Fool were to break this sacred oath what would the Fool do to punish the offender or to remedy this sin?
A citizen of a country releases a battle plan to the enemies of war. End result, the leaked information brings on the descruction of the entire attack force. Person who leaked information, tried for high treason and sentenced to death.
What was done to Apple wasn’t right, and can be fully compared to above said statement. I hope they find the worm inside Apple and feed it to the birds!
The Fool doth protest too much, methinks.
Apple all the way (or idiot on a stick):
“I wonder why Microsoft is worried about leaks. They don´t have to be worried about losing any current customers because Gates could bring out the worst product ever (e.g Windows, IE, Origami) and the Windows faithful would buy it, watch it break and they would blame somebody else, even themselves, for its faults.”
Well, no one can blame MS for Longhorn’s or Vista’s faults because they don’t exist! Before you rant about the “existence” of Vista tell me first where the general consumer can purchase a copy today. Perhaps the paucity of salacious leaks about Longhorn and Vista is because there is nothing there that Apple didn’t already develop first.
Apple needs to spend less time harassing bloggers and more time trying to get back into the business market.
Foo – Apple needs to spend less time harassing bloggers and more time trying to get back into the business market.
That is the point. Leaks are why XP is so close to OS X. Leaks are why patents are filed by competitors on a product they don’t have just to capitalize on the one who is doing the work. Leaks keep Apple from focusing on what new products. A NON Disclosure agreement, both parties sign, if you have no honor to uphold your end, that is sad.
Foo Fighter
Dude, relax a minute and check your post before sending. Punctuation and spell checking are important to conveying an intelligent argument.