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Editorial: Apple "Arrogant"; Unfairly Singling Out Journalists
by , 6:30 AM EDT, May 16th, 2005
Apple Computer is continuing to get headlines it would no doubt rather not have. This time, a scathing editorial by Los Angeles Times financial writer Michael Hiltzik who wrote Monday that Apple's on-going lawsuits against so-called Mac news rumor sites shows arrogance and puts into question the definition of what news really is.
Writing in the Provo, Utah Daily Heard, Mr. Hiltzik said what the real issue is what constitutes a journalist."There has been a lot of foolishness in the media of late questioning whether bloggers and online publishers deserve this professional label," he wrote. "...The truth is that the only useful way to define "journalist" is functionally: As anyone who hunts down suppressed, overlooked or misunderstood information of public interest (even trivial interest) and presents or explains it to an audience."
Mr. Hiltzik said newsworthiness is "in the eye of the beholder."
"For some people, nothing less than reporting on U.S. foreign policy qualifies; for others, Britney Spears's latest amnio results are all that matter in the world. Under the Constitution, it's not up to a judge to establish the line."
But Mr. Hiltzik contends Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James P. Kleinberg used his power last month to decide not only the definition of a journalist, but what constitutes news. The judges decision was in favor of Apple, who is seeking the source or sources of a leaked story published by three Mac news sites regarding the unannounced Apple product dubbed "Asteroid."
"He got the balancing test exactly wrong," he contends. "In fact, there are no constitutional provisions more categorical than the First Amendment guarantee of free speech. Intellectual property rights, on the other hand, are rife with conditions and qualifications, ranging from the limited term of patent protection to the very definition of "trade secret," which often provokes extended debate in court."
Mr. Hiltzik believes Apple's contention that it has a right to protect the detail of unannounced products is somewhat over done.
"Apple claims that the disclosures deprived it of a competitive advantage. But the Web sites didn't reveal anything technologically groundbreaking or unique, on the level of the Coca-Cola formula...What Apple lost was its unilateral ability to control the publicity and marketing of Asteroid -- something with obvious value to the company, but hardly a genuine trade secret.
"It looks like (Apple) has a long way to go before trying to protect its own narrow interests by chipping away at a fundamental public right," he writes.
Observer Comments
QuoteHiltzik wrote:
"For some people, nothing less than reporting on U.S. foreign policy qualifies; for others, Britney Spears's latest amnio results are all that matter in the world. Under the Constitution, it's not up to a judge to establish the line."
QuoteHiltzik wrote:
"Apple claims that the disclosures deprived it of a competitive advantage. But the Web sites didn't reveal anything technologically groundbreaking or unique, on the level of the Coca-Cola formula...What Apple lost was its unilateral ability to control the publicity and marketing of Asteroid -- something with obvious value to the company, but hardly a genuine trade secret.
Mr. Hiltzik seems to think the Coca-Cola formula IS a trade secret.
So a it's not up to a judge to decide what's a trade secret and what's not, but for Mr. Hiltzik it's no problem at all! Since we can't seem to see that "line" he's talking about and he apparently CAN see it, maybe he should write us all a more detailed article about what things are trade secrets and what aren't. That would certainly help the rest of us out.
Mon May 16, 2005 7:47 am Subject: Freedom of Speech
Hiltzik: "In fact, there are no constitutional provisions more categorical than the First Amendment guarantee of free speech. Intellectual property rights, on the other hand, are rife with conditions and qualifications..."
Yes, freedom of speech is absolute. Except for libel, slander, yelling "Fire" in a crowded movie theatre, ... Hmm, maybe there are limits.
The "arrogance" here lies in Hiltzik's belief that one's profession (or even avocation, in the case of bloggers) places them above any rules or judgment for their actions.
For the record, I think bloggers are entitled to the same rights and protections as journalists; I just don't happen to believe that journalists (or anyone else) are entitled to participate unchallenged in the theft of intellectual property.
Mon May 16, 2005 7:10 pm Subject: Whose Ox Is Gored ...
It seems to me that commentators' opinions on this case have depended upon the outcome, rather than the legal issues. If the judge had ruled against Apple, Hiltzik almost surely would have hailed the decision and claimed that the judge did have the right to make such a decision. Since the decision went the "wrong" way (according to Hiltzik), it's "obvious" that the judge didn't have the authority. I'd ask Hiltzik just WHO had the "authority" to make the decision? There was a lawsuit filed and motions were filed in support of and in opposition to the suit. Who ELSE but a judge should make such decisions? These are decisions on matters of law (what the law says and how it applies), not on matters of fact. In the US legal system, at least, matters of law are the province of the judge, while matters of fact are the province of the jury (if there is one). The judge didn't rule that Apple had been damaged nor to what extent. He didn't say that some Apple employee had violated his/her NDA. Those are questions of fact. He decided the legal questions (matter of law) that were presented to him. If he had not made a decision, he might have been in breech of his oath and ethics. The party who was ruled against can appeal a decision on a matter of law and they may well do that.
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