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Sue Different: Apple Threatens Insider Sites After Leaks

Mark Glaser wrote a piece about Apple’s new litigious streak in an article for the Online Journalism Review (OJR):

With Steve Jobs back in the saddle as CEO, Apple Computer has made a stunning comeback with the popularity of iPod music players and the iTunes online music store. The company’s stock is riding high, and Jobs recently introduced the new $499 Mac Mini computer and $99 iPod Shuffle to the adoring faithful at Macworld, who cheered him as a conquering hero.
But there is little cheering being done by technology journalists, as Apple recently sued the proprietor of the ThinkSecret.com insider news site for publishing general information on the Mini and Shuffle — what Apple considers trade secrets — before their official announcement at Macworld. Plus, Apple is preparing subpoenas for two other sites, Apple Insider and PowerPage.org, to force them to divulge their inside sources on a product code-named “Asteroid.”

“The shine has definitely come off the Apple,” said Jason O’Grady, editor at PowerPage.org. “If Apple has a problem with their house, if they have a leak in their house, they need to fix it. It’s a bad move to sue [journalists] in this way, because it’s a bad PR move, and it’s tipping their hand that the product exists.”

Read the rest of Mark’s article at OJR.org.


Mark Glaser wrote a piece about Apple’s new litigious streak in an article for the Online Journalism Review (OJR):

With Steve Jobs back in the saddle as CEO, Apple Computer has made a stunning comeback with the popularity of iPod music players and the iTunes online music store. The company’s stock is riding high, and Jobs recently introduced the new $499 Mac Mini computer and $99 iPod Shuffle to the adoring faithful at Macworld, who cheered him as a conquering hero.
But there is little cheering being done by technology journalists, as Apple recently sued the proprietor of the ThinkSecret.com insider news site for publishing general information on the Mini and Shuffle — what Apple considers trade secrets — before their official announcement at Macworld. Plus, Apple is preparing subpoenas for two other sites, Apple Insider and PowerPage.org, to force them to divulge their inside sources on a product code-named “Asteroid.”

“The shine has definitely come off the Apple,” said Jason O’Grady, editor at PowerPage.org. “If Apple has a problem with their house, if they have a leak in their house, they need to fix it. It’s a bad move to sue [journalists] in this way, because it’s a bad PR move, and it’s tipping their hand that the product exists.”

Read the rest of Mark’s article at OJR.org.

By Jason O'Grady

Founded the PowerPage in 1995.