Think Secret to cease publication
Apple secrets are not what they use to be. Pretty much everything is known before release from more than one source. Regardless of what you thought about ThinkSecret, it's a damn shame that Apple would use their power to force a college student from doing a website in a free country.
http://www.thinksecret.com/news/settlement.html
http://www.thinksecret.com/news/settlement.html
Comments
What happened to the lawsuit they launched at the same time against AppleInsider? Should we expect a similar settlement and the 'news' portion of the site to close?
Apple purchased ThinkSecret and paid off Nick in the process. Plain and simple.
Apple never had a case against Nick or ThinkSecret.
I am assuming in the near future ThinkSecret.com will take you to Apple.com.
Apple purchased ThinkSecret and paid off Nick in the process. Plain and simple.
Apple never had a case against Nick or ThinkSecret.
I'm sure they paid him off, but I think they did have somewhat of a case. They just chose not to pubicly rape him for sake of their own publicity. Wasn't there a court battle over this type of thing, where it was decided that those who published trade secrets were liable?
Think Secret stopped reporting much of anything newsworthy about two years ago; my guess is Apple snuffed out their sources and those people no longer work at Apple. If that's the case, then Nick is probably happy to close down his site, as with his sources gone he has nothing to report anyhow. At least, that's my theory.
I agree. I've checked think secret, but it's been a joke. In fact, all rumor sites are a joke now. I also started a thread about it. There no good rumor sites anymore, sorry to say. i actually think Apple made a big mistake by going after them so hard. The rumor mill generated huge excitement for their products. It's all so much more corporate now.
I'm sure they paid him off, but I think they did have somewhat of a case. They just chose not to pubicly rape him for sake of their own publicity. Wasn't there a court battle over this type of thing, where it was decided that those who published trade secrets were liable?
I agree. I've checked think secret, but it's been a joke. In fact, all rumor sites are a joke now. I also started a thread about it. There no good rumor sites anymore, sorry to say. i actually think Apple made a big mistake by going after them so hard. The rumor mill generated huge excitement for their products. It's all so much more corporate now.
Pretty sure Apple would not pay off Think Secret for allowing stolen information to be posted online. They agreed to discontinue the lawsuit, and Think Secret agreed to quit entirely. Apple probably also got him to shut up about the terms of the agreement.
Pretty sure Apple would not pay off Think Secret for allowing stolen information to be posted online.
Then again maybe Apple would pay them off.
http://computerworld.com/action/arti...&intsrc=kc_top
IMO Apple had a leak, and therfore there was a problem at Apple and not Think Secret. Suing a 19 year old who runs a website over internal Apple matters makes Apple look mean and Grinchy.
The publisher will be living on an expensive beach somewhere laughing his ass off.
V/R,
Aries 1B
Unfortunate.
What happened to the lawsuit they launched at the same time against AppleInsider? Should we expect a similar settlement and the 'news' portion of the site to close?
We won and Apple had to pay double legal fees.
We won and Apple had to pay double legal fees.
Awesome! Is paying double the legal fees because the site is based in the UK?
I think in the states you would have to file a counter suit.
The publisher will be living on an expensive beach somewhere laughing his ass off.
The article only said about them winning with regard to free speech in that the sources weren't revealed. The site still had to be shut down so I doubt the site owner would have received a significant pay-off.
it's a damn shame that Apple would use their power to force a college student from doing a website in a free country.
You could say the same if a student decided to setup a file sharing site. You might say that sharing a file is different but both intellectual property and trade secrets can be damaging to the company if they are released to the public.
I think Apple depend heavily on their hype-machine. Without the hype and the brand, they are just another PC manufacturer. Their products are good but the hype definitely helps sales.
I used to like ThinkSecret but there's so little to report that it's not worth continuing. I'm sure that people who get insider secrets can post anonymously to forums like AI anyway.
You could say the same if a student decided to setup a file sharing site. You might say that sharing a file is different but both intellectual property and trade secrets can be damaging to the company if they are released to the public.
You're right. I will say that file sharing is different. In terms of music, the courts have ruled that stealing music is criminal. Period. When you download something like Limewire you are on install agreeing not to violate this criminal act.
There was no agreement signed between Think Secret and Apple. Instead the gag agreement lies with an Apple employee (source). Think Secret broke no laws or agreements and reported information that was then immediately reported in the larger media. (who were never sued).
And isn't it preposterous for Apple to even fein damage when they are one of the largest success stories in recent years.
We won and Apple had to pay double legal fees.
w00t
I'm sure they paid him off, but I think they did have somewhat of a case. They just chose not to pubicly rape him for sake of their own publicity. Wasn't there a court battle over this type of thing, where it was decided that those who published trade secrets were liable?
I don't know of that specific court case either. But was it Trade Secrets as in KFC's secret recipe or Trade Secrets intellectual property knowledge? Big difference.
AFAIK, NDAs don't extend to people who don't sign them. As long as ThinkSecret was seeking any information but rather just reporting what someone else said, they are not liable.
Apple paid off Nick and company for a court case they would have lost.
The site still had to be shut down so I doubt the site owner would have received a significant pay-off.
Naw, a settlement was made, Apple paying off. Because of the merits of the case, it probably was a good chunk of change (for you or me, not necessarily Apple).
The very notion that Apple bought out Nick is even worse, because what kind of journalist sells out like that? Sure, Think Secret may not have "revealed" any informants, but that is most likely because they didn't have to, Apple figured them out on themselves. This is easily proved with the fact that there have been zero leaks ever since Apple came down on the rumor sites.
This is my favorite quote from the above article:
"Apple stopped pressing their lawsuit, and essentially nothing happened. Nick kept writing his articles, and Apple kept sending cease and desist letters."
What did Nick keep writing?!? Reports on point releases to Quicktime and Acrobat? I've never seen a site change so drastically overnight - not a fucking peep about future Apple products, just play by play on software updates and screenshots of unreleased copies of OSX.
Nick may never have been much of a journalist, but he sure was one hell of a coward. Whatever you choose to do next Nick - here's a tip - grow a fucking back bone first, because it's pretty clear - when the going gets tough, you get going.
Nick may never have been much of a journalist, but he sure was one hell of a coward. Whatever you choose to do next Nick - here's a tip - grow a fucking back bone first, because it's pretty clear - when the going gets tough, you get going.
I suspect it may have been his sources who were a bit scared of losing their jobs.
If it's widely known that Apple are filing lawsuits against a site that you are providing insider information to, it would be very unwise to keep providing insider information.
I'm sure Apple have used techniques before to help weed out leaks such as sending out false information.
The problem with the courts is that they haven't yet definitely decided that web site writers have the same legal protection as traditional journalists. If they did, Apple never would have had the potential of winning the case, however just the financial ramifications of the threat of a lawsuit would be enough to scare most people into settling. Who among us would be willing to spend what could be hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight a lawsuit from a big company like Apple?
Let's all check what we call a good or bad journalist before we start pegging some to be not a good journalist. Nick seem to me to be a good journalist and the people at Harvard must agree he has some skill to bring to the table in journalism. But that is by my definition and comparing him to the true bad journalist in the world.
Besides, without the "rumor" sites, all Apple users loose.
Yes, I would take the money like Nick and run because those chances don't come around all the time. I also have not seen anywhere that confirms that he received any kind of payment.
Is the forum down over there too or moved to a different url? The applenova forums don't work. But I only went there about once a month to see what was up but it has been a long time since I was there.