Contest aims to expose product

Apple is demanding an end to a tablet "scavenger hunt," according to an attorney representing the company. A letter from Michael Spillner of the lawfirm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe threatens that if the contest -- run by Gawker Media -- is not retracted by 6PM Pacific time on Thursday, Apple may pursue "any and all remedies" against both the organizers of the contest and anyone who actually wins it.

Launched only on Wednesday, the contest offers various cash prizes for evidence of the tablet, which is expected to be formally announced on the 26th or the 27th. A $100,000 prize is being offered for an hour of time with the tablet; lesser prizes are being given for legitimate pictures or video, with a bonus if Apple CEO Steve Jobs is involved. While participants are asked to "stay within the bounds of the law," Spillner points out that by definition, any winning entries would contain Apple trade secrets and break California's Civil Code.

"As your offer acknowledges," the lawyer writes, "Apple has maintained the types of information and things that you are soliciting -- 'how it'll work, its size, the name, the software,' as well as any possible details about the product's appearance, features, and physical samples -- in strict confidence."

Notably the language in the letter does not deny the tablet, or posit it as hypothetical. Instead it argues that the information is protected, in the same manner that other pre-release Apple products have been. Apple also rarely pursues legal action unless real product information is at risk of being exposed.

As a gag prize, Gawker says it is sending Spillner a DVD of Legally Blonde 2, a $25 Zune Marketplace card and a set of steak knives. The website calls the letter the "most concrete evidence (from Apple itself, no less!) yet that there may indeed be a tablet in the works."

by MacNN Staff