Hmm. So you can't buy or sell lost property, but there's nothing to say you can't carefully examine and photograph something you found before you return it to its rightful owner.
So if the finder had taken it to Gizmodo and offered to let them take a look at it for $10,000 then he'd be in the clear, but if he actually sold it to Gizmodo then he's in serious trouble.
Gizmodo is in pretty serious trouble, too. They knew what they were paying for (they have expertise in these things - they can't just claim they bought the thing off of Craigslist), and I wouldn't be surprised if someone at Gizmodo ends up in jail over this.
Apple has the same right to their property that you have to your own private property because Apple is just a voluntary association of employees and shareholders. Their individual rights give rise to Apple's rights. If someone stole something you made, like your private journal and plastered it all over the Internet, you'd be livid, and the perpetrator should go to jail (how long is for the courts to decide). For that same reason, whoever was involved with this at Gizmodo belongs in jail (again, how long is a judicial matter).
No one will go to jail. This is the highest profile leak of the kind, but prototypes get shown online all the time against company wishes. It's usually a lot more shady than finding it a bar too--Apple would be a lot more concerned if their supply chain was compromised.
I am not so sure about that. A number of things make this case quite different, such that it may violate federal criminal statutes in multiple ways. The effects might spread beyond Gizmodo, at that.
Either their lawyers are no good or they didn't bother to check with them in advance, or they would have been told about their (federal) criminal liability under the economic espionage act of 1996, which can result in prison for up to 10 years, or fines of up to $5m for the organization.
Seriously - there is not much room for interpretation here:
I'll let the lawyers sort that out, but I don't think Apple wants to take the PR hit of sending a blogger to jail for taking pics of a gadget that was left in a public place. It didn't even have a material effect on stock price, Apple will have a hard time proving anything but an ego was hurt.
I could be way off base, so if Denton get hauled odd to jail feel free to reply and get in your kicks.
Apple has filed lawsuits based on much less[1] and was willing to take the PR hit for it. I'm aware the circumstances are different, but Apple's obsession with secrecy has led it to take PR hits before.
A lawsuit is much different than criminal charges and yet they also lost the cases you linked. This time they would be up against a much more formidable defense too--Gawker has money and connections.
It would be a really tough sell to send a blogger to jail for taking pictures of something that was in a public place.
Indeed so. But as Gizmodo paid for, took possession of, and then publicized the device, it seems pretty clear that they've crossed a line into criminality. The US customs service spends money on finding and seizing knockoffs, including the iPhone, and I wouldn't be that surprised if they moved on it; even though they might only seeks a token penalty like 1 day in jail.
Gawker has money and connections
And Apple doesn't? :) Really, the only reason I can think of not to come down on Giz like a ton of bricks right now is the perception that they've been throwing their weight around with developers lately.
Before anyone goes to jail, Apple needs to publicly admit that this is their device. Current analysis seems to suggest strongly that it is, but it'll be interesting to see if they admit it.
Comments
Hmm. So you can't buy or sell lost property, but there's nothing to say you can't carefully examine and photograph something you found before you return it to its rightful owner.
So if the finder had taken it to Gizmodo and offered to let them take a look at it for $10,000 then he'd be in the clear, but if he actually sold it to Gizmodo then he's in serious trouble.
Gizmodo is in pretty serious trouble, too. They knew what they were paying for (they have expertise in these things - they can't just claim they bought the thing off of Craigslist), and I wouldn't be surprised if someone at Gizmodo ends up in jail over this.
Apple has the same right to their property that you have to your own private property because Apple is just a voluntary association of employees and shareholders. Their individual rights give rise to Apple's rights. If someone stole something you made, like your private journal and plastered it all over the Internet, you'd be livid, and the perpetrator should go to jail (how long is for the courts to decide). For that same reason, whoever was involved with this at Gizmodo belongs in jail (again, how long is a judicial matter).
No one will go to jail. This is the highest profile leak of the kind, but prototypes get shown online all the time against company wishes. It's usually a lot more shady than finding it a bar too--Apple would be a lot more concerned if their supply chain was compromised.
I am not so sure about that. A number of things make this case quite different, such that it may violate federal criminal statutes in multiple ways. The effects might spread beyond Gizmodo, at that.
Gizmodo offers (some) more details... http://gizmodo.com/5520438/how-apple-lost-the-next-iphone
...while Gawker Media head honcho Nick Denton seems to confirm they bought the thing... http://twitter.com/nicknotned/status/12474394397
Either their lawyers are no good or they didn't bother to check with them in advance, or they would have been told about their (federal) criminal liability under the economic espionage act of 1996, which can result in prison for up to 10 years, or fines of up to $5m for the organization.
Seriously - there is not much room for interpretation here:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_00001832----...
Edit: Gizmodo is in SF, not NY. D'oh.
I am not a lawyer.
Edit: Apple already sent a cease-and-desist letter in January to Gawker Media, warning them they were inviting a violation of California Trade Secrets law. http://gawker.com/5448177/update-apple-wins-the-first-prize-...
I'll let the lawyers sort that out, but I don't think Apple wants to take the PR hit of sending a blogger to jail for taking pics of a gadget that was left in a public place. It didn't even have a material effect on stock price, Apple will have a hard time proving anything but an ego was hurt.
I could be way off base, so if Denton get hauled odd to jail feel free to reply and get in your kicks.
Apple has filed lawsuits based on much less[1] and was willing to take the PR hit for it. I'm aware the circumstances are different, but Apple's obsession with secrecy has led it to take PR hits before.
[1] - http://www.eff.org/cases/apple-v-does
A lawsuit is much different than criminal charges and yet they also lost the cases you linked. This time they would be up against a much more formidable defense too--Gawker has money and connections.
It would be a really tough sell to send a blogger to jail for taking pictures of something that was in a public place.
Indeed so. But as Gizmodo paid for, took possession of, and then publicized the device, it seems pretty clear that they've crossed a line into criminality. The US customs service spends money on finding and seizing knockoffs, including the iPhone, and I wouldn't be that surprised if they moved on it; even though they might only seeks a token penalty like 1 day in jail.
Gawker has money and connections
And Apple doesn't? :) Really, the only reason I can think of not to come down on Giz like a ton of bricks right now is the perception that they've been throwing their weight around with developers lately.
Before anyone goes to jail, Apple needs to publicly admit that this is their device. Current analysis seems to suggest strongly that it is, but it'll be interesting to see if they admit it.
Or they can just wait until it's released, and then press criminal charges.