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Apple Sues Anonymous Persons Over Product Leaks [UPDATED]
by , 5:45 PM EST, December 17th, 2004
Reuters is reporting that Apple has filed a lawsuit against anonymous people who have leaked information about unannounced products on Mac rumor sites. The lawsuit was filed in Santa Clara County, California Superior Court
According to Reuters, Apple's suit said that "an unidentified individual, acting alone or in concert with others, has recently misappropriated and disseminated through Web sites confidential information about an unreleased Apple product."
In a statement provided to The Mac Observer, Apple said, "Apple has filed a civil complaint against unnamed individuals who we believe stole our trade secrets and posted detailed information about an unannounced Apple product on the Internet. Apple's DNA is innovation, and the protection of our trade secrets is crucial to our success."
The John Doe lawsuit is similar to one filed in 2000 against anonymous John Does who had posted leaked product information on Mac forums, including one poster known as "worker bee."
As was the case with that suit, Apple does not know the identity of the current leakers, but court documents said the company will amend its complaint when learns the identity.
Recent stories have circulated about products that the rumor sites say will be announced at next month's Macworld San Francisco, and Apple's lawsuits may be related to those stories.
Observer Comments
Fri Dec 17, 2004 8:38 pm Subject: Flash iPod anyone ?
What happened in the "worker bee" suit btw, Bryan? Was anyone actually named or did it just fizzle out?
This is some interesting stuff. Assuming we're talking about the "iPod flash" that lots of folks will now claim is a shoo-in for MWSF, there are two (more obvious) possible culprits, one of them being the Wall Street analyst who talked about the supposed Sigmatel deal. Here's hoping this has nothing to do with Think Secret/Macrumors/etc. though. I do enjoy my daily dose of Mac rumordom. ![]()
Sat Dec 18, 2004 2:10 am Subject: Worker bee suit settled
"Apple has quietly settled a lawsuit brought against former employee Juan Gutierrez -- more commonly known on the Internet as "worker bee." As part of the agreement with Apple, Gutierrez said he would turn over any confidential information he still had in his possession and refrain from sharing any more information he may have learned during his time with the company, according to a story on ZDNet."
http://www.macworld.com/news/2001/08/07/workerbee/
Sat Dec 18, 2004 11:20 am Subject: Give Me A Break - Flash iPod Is Innovation?
Sat Dec 18, 2004 4:07 pm Subject: Guest, why macnet?
Sat Dec 18, 2004 5:04 pm Subject: Guest, can't read?
"Apple has filed a civil complaint against unnamed individuals who we believe stole our trade secrets and posted detailed information about an unannounced Apple product on the Internet. Apple's DNA is innovation, and the protection of our trade secrets is crucial to our success."
states 'unannounced'.
QuoteRealityCheck wrote:
Apple's famed R&D, its DNA, invents the flash music player. Wow what innovation. This puts Edison to shame. How creative, not. Like only the 100th flash music player on the market.
Personally, I'm skeptical that Apple will release a flash-based iPod, but if they do, they'll do it better than anybody. They wouldn't bother otherwise. Apple didn't invent the harddrive-based music player, either, but you'd have to admit that the iPod is innovative. You don't have to be first to be an innovator; you just have to do it better.
(On another note, if RC doesn't read replies, how is replying to him "feeding the troll"?)
Mon Dec 20, 2004 3:51 pm Subject: Apple Innovates the User Experience, Not the Device
There isn't really much to debate about the purpose of the flash iPod. It does not have to innovate or even make a huge profit (existing models do that well enough). It will sell like mad and it will simply help to further the spread of AAC and fairplay. You can't fault Apple for making a move like that.
Well, you think about this. Apple has invented little. Apple did not invent the GUI. They did not invent the personal computer. They did not invent the MP3 player, the HDD player, the mouse, the laptop, the all in one, the headphone, the sock, sliced bread, the jet engine or anything revolutionary. They just perfected it.
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