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eWeek: Apple lawsuits create little consumer backlash

updated 08:40 am EDT, Mon April 25, 2005

Lawsuit backlash


If there is a against Apple over its recent lawsuits against Mac rumor sites, "it doesn't appear to be doing Apple any real harm," eWeek observes. "Among the people that Apple is most likely to care about— the core Mac aficionados who congregate every year at events like January's Macworld Expo in San Francisco— the support for Apple has been considerable. At virtually every news site covering the cases the comments have been flooded with Mac fans decrying the leaking of information and supporting Apple's attempt to keep its secrets until the date of its choosing— often in vehement terms ... Ironically, it is these very fans who tend to form the audience for sites such as Think Secret, who cluster around message boards and mailing lists to discuss the latest in rumored new products."


by MacNN Staff

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  1. JohnM15141

    Mac Enthusiast

    Joined: Dec 1999

    0
    04/25, 09:12am | report spam | Reply |

    We consumers understand..

    because we all know even if you call it "Journalism" it's still Spying! and you know what happens to Spies when they're caught, "Ready! Aim! Lawsuit! Plus, it's only natural for media outlets refusing to call it what really is..(hint:Spying!)

  1. denim

    Mac Elite

    Joined: Jun 2000

    0
    04/25, 09:12am | report spam | Reply |

    Duh

    They're RUMOR sites, not FACT sites!

  1. Frogmella

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Sep 2001

    0
    04/25, 09:16am | report spam | Reply |

    Um....

    "Mac fans decrying the leaking of information and supporting Apple's attempt to keep its secrets until the date of its choosing"

    BOLLOCKS! Mac fans just LOVE to know what products are around the corner!

  1. Jonathan-Tanya

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Oct 2004

    0
    04/25, 10:00am | report spam | Reply |

    backlash

    There have been many in the community sickened by apple's lack of good judgement. Every group has it's fascists who type first and cry the loudest, but there is most definately backlash against apple.

  1. dylanw

    Junior Member

    Joined: Mar 2001

    0
    04/25, 10:30am | report spam | Reply |

    Backlash?

    "There have been many in the community sickened by apple's lack of good judgement. Every group has it's fascists who type first and cry the loudest, but there is most definately backlash against apple."

    For a sufficiently broad definition of the term "backlash."

  1. Deal

    Mac Enthusiast

    Joined: Apr 2001

    0
    04/25, 11:20am | report spam | Reply |

    This says it all...

    Here is Journalist wanabe translater:

    community = me and the very few who take my viewpoint sickened = purposefully misunderstands for biased personal reasons fascists = people who like a good product lack of good judgment = wanting retribution for illegally stolen information cry the loudest = reasonably understanding the situation and defend the company backlash = this little note I just wrote.

    Here is how the message should have read:

    There have been me and the very few who take my viewpoint who purposefully misunderstands for biased personal reasons Apple's wanting retribution for illegally stolen information. Every group has it's people who like a good product, who type first and reasonably understanding the situation and defend the company, but there is most definately this little note I just wrote against apple.

    There, that's better.

  1. umijin

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jun 2004

    0
    04/25, 11:27am | report spam | Reply |

    Spying? Puh-leeze..

    Here we go again, Apple apologists spewing nonsense. I suppose if you want to call journalism spying, you can jump on the bandwagon of goverment officials who want to call any investigative reporting the same thing. I suppose that's why we don't have any decent mainstream news sources anymore - everyone's afraid to be investigated for breaches of supposedly classified info. Try to find some news on CNN and you'll see what I mean.

    There is no backlash, cuz most people don't care if it doesn't directly affect them. Sure I'm pissed, and I'm not buying any more Apple stuff in part because I'm protesting - but that doesn't mean spit to a company who can afford to lose the 200 or so customers that agree with me. The truth isn't important to anyone in our society anymore. It's all about image, baby...

  1. ScottEllsworth

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Sep 2001

    0
    04/25, 11:56am | report spam | Reply |

    Journalism? Puh-leeze

    Had the sites in question been journalists revealing information in the public interest, then the judge would most likely have treated them as such. Instead, the rumor sites revealed proprietary trade secrets without any hint of public good. (For example, no hint of malfeasance on the part of Apple, or of criminal activity, or of improper behavior.)

    Thus, calling the rumor sites "journalists" in this case weakens the first amendment. It associates simple theft of proprietary IP with actual investigative journalism.

    Among most of the people I know, this is just not an issue. IT is not "muzzling a free press", it is an attempt to find the employee or contractor who broke their confidentiality agreement.

    Scott

  1. Ben Lawson

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jul 2002

    0
    04/25, 12:14pm | report spam | Reply |

    Soylent Green is People!

    And Slurm is hallucinogenic snail slime.

    Companies have a legitimate right and need to protect commercial trade secrets. This right is only over-ridden when it is harmful to the public good. Examples include concealed health or environmental risks, criminal activity, etc.

    The right for rumor web sites to profit from illegally obtained commercial trade secrets is not established, and often does factually harm the companies affected by the release of the information.

    I think that Apple is saying: - We have a legal right to protect our trade secrets. - The people who provided you with these secrets did so in explicit violation of legal contracts. - You encouraged them to breach their contracts for your own profit. - Give us the names so that we may exercise our legal rights.

    I don't have a problem with that.

  1. jrome

    Junior Member

    Joined: May 1999

    0
    04/25, 01:05pm | report spam | Reply |

    What trade secret?

    The release date of an unannounced product is now considered a trade secret? NO! Apple's claim is bull, they'll lose the ThinkSecret case once it's heard in full. Otherwise, why not sue everyone who published the Apeil 29 date before Apple announced? Why not sue the LA Times for writing an article about iTMS weeks before it was announced? Go ahead, sue the LA Times Apple. Pick on someone your own size.

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