Apple has a right to be pissed off. I hope they make an example of Gizmodo as their actions have a potentially negative impact on Apple's business. We all know everyone loves to copy Apple and now, they all have a couple of month's head start on the process.
Gizmodo knew exactly what they were doing by publishing these photos, as well as the impact on another company's business. Punishing Gizmodo would send a clear message that any scumbag company that leaks trade secrets to the public will suffer consequences. I say throw the book at them.
I find it difficult to believe given the apple policies on un-released devices, that someone would have this thing on them in a bar. And leave it.
While I enjoy the stories about this finally being a chink in the armor of Apple's secrecy stance, I have to believe this is a staged leak given the stories about the Android devices (can you say Incredible? On Verizon?) hitting the street WELL before the expected announce of the next iPhone.
There's not an 'iPhone" killer per se, but HTC and Android have slowly but surely chipped away at the iPhone armor. And several (actually quite a few now) stories I've seen about both Android and new Android running hardware make it obvious: the iPhone's finally got competition.
So the 'Sword of Damocles' hangs over their head for the next 3 years.
It will crash down upon them at some point, a point when most people aren't looking.
No it won't. Apple will do absolutely nothing concrete against Gizmodo. I doubt Apple has anything financial to gain by having Gizmodo become more critical of Apple products.
The moment you take possession of someone else's property to are doing 1 of 2 things,
1. Taking reasonable responsibility in returning it to the rightful owner.
2. Committing theft.
You pick up some dumb bloke's phone he left in a bar you just took responsibility in returning it to that bloke. If you don't want that responsibility turn it into the bar or turn it into the police. Sell it to a blog for $5,000, you just committed theft. That blog just received stolen goods. "Wanna buy this VCR it just fell off the back of a truck." How many times have cops heard that story?
This isn't the wild west, there is the rule of law and bloggers aren't exempt.
I personally would love for gizmodo to be taken down a peg with both criminal and civil proceeding. I think an example should be made of them. People seem to have forgotten Think Secret.
There is no "improper means" . It was not "stolen". Some dumbass took it out in public and left it on a bar stool and left the premises. It was not taken from his bag, it was not acquired on Apple's property. It was not even discovered to be a prototype upon finding.
I assume AI pays its sources of leaks and info. Does that fall under "bribery, misrepresentation, breach or inducement of a breach of a duty to maintain secrecy" . How is that different from what Gizmodo did? Maybe Kasper should be sent to jail then, or at least shut down the site.
Just because some one forgot or left behind an item and another person decides to take it does not make it any less of a theft to take something that did not belong to you. It was simply not his to take, left behind or not.
Gizmodo AND the guy who found the phone both deserve to be punished, plain and simple. The guy who found the phone should have given the phone to an employee at the bar, like anyone with morals would have done. Once he realized what he had, instead of returning it to Apple, like anyone with morals would have, he got greedy and decided to make some money off of his find. At this point it becomes stolen property because he is making a conscious decision not only to keep something that he knows isn't his, but to try to profit from it.
As soon as Gizmodo accepts the phone, whether they paid for it or not, they are in receipt of stolen property. They obviously knew what it was or they wouldn't have paid $5,000 for it. Once again, greed trumps morals.
This is why we have laws folks, to keep greed and self-serving urges in check. The guy who found and sold the phone and the Gizmodo employees involved need to be held accountable for their greed and lack of morals. The employee who lost the phone should be severely reprimanded, but not fired.
Concerning whether this was intentionally orchestrated by Apple or not, I really don't think so. They may be guilty of leaking tidbits of information concerning features or functionality, but I don't think they would intentionally reveal such a finalized piece of hardware. Field testing is something Apple has done with every generation of iPhone, and probably with most of their hardware. It's a necessary risk to let a select group of employees take the gadgets out into the real world and put them through their paces to work out any issues. In this particular case, someone just made a really, really dumb mistake and left the iPhone in a bar.
BTW, some don't like the look of the new iPhone, but I like it a lot.
One who finds lost property under circumstances which give him knowledge of or means of inquiry as to the true owner, and who appropriates such property to his own use, or to the use of another person not entitled thereto, without first making reasonable and just efforts to find the owner and to restore the property to him, is guilty of theft.
IANAL, but I believe over $400 is a felony and as such this would qualify, same goes with receiving stolen goods.
Interesting isn't it... look I subscribe to the philosophy "shit happens", but one does wonder just how messed up one has to be to forget an iPhone prototype on a bar stool...
One who finds lost property under circumstances which give him knowledge of or means of inquiry as to the true owner, and who appropriates such property to his own use, or to the use of another person not entitled thereto, without first making reasonable and just efforts to find the owner and to restore the property to him, is guilty of theft.
IANAL, but I believe over $400 is a felony and as such this would qualify, same goes with receiving stolen goods.
The finder has a call number proving they tried to return it, and the phone provided no info on it's owner since it was disabled.
I hope you represent yourself in court someday. You'll be hilarious.
Comments
No theft, no lawsuit. No Sword of Democles.
Seems plenty of Lawyers think otherwise.
This won't go unpunished.
Whether you think Gizmodo were right or wrong, it doesn't matter, there will be retribution.
Gizmodo knew exactly what they were doing by publishing these photos, as well as the impact on another company's business. Punishing Gizmodo would send a clear message that any scumbag company that leaks trade secrets to the public will suffer consequences. I say throw the book at them.
While I enjoy the stories about this finally being a chink in the armor of Apple's secrecy stance, I have to believe this is a staged leak given the stories about the Android devices (can you say Incredible? On Verizon?) hitting the street WELL before the expected announce of the next iPhone.
There's not an 'iPhone" killer per se, but HTC and Android have slowly but surely chipped away at the iPhone armor. And several (actually quite a few now) stories I've seen about both Android and new Android running hardware make it obvious: the iPhone's finally got competition.
right on!
http://gizmodo.com/5520479/a-letter-...et-iphone-back
Apparently they tried to return it to Apple and were ignored. Oh well...
BTW, I like the new design and look forward to upgrading my 3G ASAP.
Time will tell.
So the 'Sword of Damocles' hangs over their head for the next 3 years.
It will crash down upon them at some point, a point when most people aren't looking.
No it won't. Apple will do absolutely nothing concrete against Gizmodo. I doubt Apple has anything financial to gain by having Gizmodo become more critical of Apple products.
1. Taking reasonable responsibility in returning it to the rightful owner.
2. Committing theft.
You pick up some dumb bloke's phone he left in a bar you just took responsibility in returning it to that bloke. If you don't want that responsibility turn it into the bar or turn it into the police. Sell it to a blog for $5,000, you just committed theft. That blog just received stolen goods. "Wanna buy this VCR it just fell off the back of a truck." How many times have cops heard that story?
This isn't the wild west, there is the rule of law and bloggers aren't exempt.
I personally would love for gizmodo to be taken down a peg with both criminal and civil proceeding. I think an example should be made of them. People seem to have forgotten Think Secret.
There is no "improper means" . It was not "stolen". Some dumbass took it out in public and left it on a bar stool and left the premises. It was not taken from his bag, it was not acquired on Apple's property. It was not even discovered to be a prototype upon finding.
I assume AI pays its sources of leaks and info. Does that fall under "bribery, misrepresentation, breach or inducement of a breach of a duty to maintain secrecy" . How is that different from what Gizmodo did? Maybe Kasper should be sent to jail then, or at least shut down the site.
Just because some one forgot or left behind an item and another person decides to take it does not make it any less of a theft to take something that did not belong to you. It was simply not his to take, left behind or not.
Gizmodo, is a piece of sh1t website.
Bring on the lawyers.
As soon as Gizmodo accepts the phone, whether they paid for it or not, they are in receipt of stolen property. They obviously knew what it was or they wouldn't have paid $5,000 for it. Once again, greed trumps morals.
This is why we have laws folks, to keep greed and self-serving urges in check. The guy who found and sold the phone and the Gizmodo employees involved need to be held accountable for their greed and lack of morals. The employee who lost the phone should be severely reprimanded, but not fired.
Concerning whether this was intentionally orchestrated by Apple or not, I really don't think so. They may be guilty of leaking tidbits of information concerning features or functionality, but I don't think they would intentionally reveal such a finalized piece of hardware. Field testing is something Apple has done with every generation of iPhone, and probably with most of their hardware. It's a necessary risk to let a select group of employees take the gadgets out into the real world and put them through their paces to work out any issues. In this particular case, someone just made a really, really dumb mistake and left the iPhone in a bar.
BTW, some don't like the look of the new iPhone, but I like it a lot.
One who finds lost property under circumstances which give him knowledge of or means of inquiry as to the true owner, and who appropriates such property to his own use, or to the use of another person not entitled thereto, without first making reasonable and just efforts to find the owner and to restore the property to him, is guilty of theft.
IANAL, but I believe over $400 is a felony and as such this would qualify, same goes with receiving stolen goods.
Interesting isn't it... look I subscribe to the philosophy "shit happens", but one does wonder just how messed up one has to be to forget an iPhone prototype on a bar stool...
Good luck Gizmodo. Hope you won't be the next Think Secret.
California Penal Code Section 485
One who finds lost property under circumstances which give him knowledge of or means of inquiry as to the true owner, and who appropriates such property to his own use, or to the use of another person not entitled thereto, without first making reasonable and just efforts to find the owner and to restore the property to him, is guilty of theft.
IANAL, but I believe over $400 is a felony and as such this would qualify, same goes with receiving stolen goods.
The finder has a call number proving they tried to return it, and the phone provided no info on it's owner since it was disabled.
I hope you represent yourself in court someday. You'll be hilarious.