Apple is not pursuing any appeals in its case to force AppleInsider and PowerPage to divulge information sources. A California Court ruled in favor of the Mac-related Web sites, and Apple filed new documents this week that say it does not plan to challenge the findings. Also, a deadline for an appeal by Apple has now passed, according to The Mercury News.
Apple had filed a lawsuit in an effort to find out who leaked information about an unreleased music interface device known as "Asteroid" to the Mac sites. The Court sided with the Mac sites and ruled that bloggers and Web-based publications have the same right to protect news sources as more traditional media outlets, like newspapers and broadcasters, do.
Attorneys from the Electronic Frontier Foundation represented the Web sites, and feel that the ruling could influence court decisions in other states. Right now, this new case law is applicable only in California.
Kurt Opsahl, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, commented that other states "may look to this case for guidance, or at least carefully consider its decision and point of view. But they are not required to follow it."
Apple is still involved in a separate lawsuit against the Mac rumor site Think Secret for misappropriation of trade secrets. The site is asking the California Court system to throw out the case based on the stateis Anti-SLAPP law. The law protects individuals right to freedom of speech when a company or another person uses a lawsuit in an effort to silence them.