Jason Chen, the man behind Gizmodo (the gadget blog that got its hands on the iPhone 4G prototype), has had his computers taken by police from his residence.
The police acted while he was not home. They took several computers and servers. The police warrant was issued by the Judge of Superior Court of San Mateo. Gawker, the media company behind Gizmodo has claimed that “the search warrant to remove these computers was invalid under section 1524(g) of the California Penal Code.”
The police? Seized computers? Who thought that this would all come down to this in the end. If Apple is behind this, they might have a PR problem starting today. One that is bigger than the App store rejection soap opera.
You can view the search warrants and Gawker legal response here. Below is the list of event according to Jason Chen:
The Apple Gestapo is rearing it's ugly head.
what a shame. let's all go out and buy more Apple products!
The victim of the crime (Apple) doesn't have any say over whether charges are pressed in the matter…that's entirely up to the DA. I can say that I'm pretty sure that in that tech community it isn't just Apple that would be concerned about issues like this…if the DA did nothing, then it likely would send the message that it is okay to take something…including a prototype…and expose it to the world. I don't think other tech companies want that precedent set.
It is pretty clear that laws were broken in this case…especially with the fact that Gawker and Giz gloated over this situation…publishing their accounts…and if those stories don't line up with what they find on those computers…well…hope they get some better lawyers.
Let's be honest…they knew it was a real Apple prototype…because they paid $5k for it…and they should have known (as Engadget's legal team told them) that by purchasing said phone…they were breaking the law. By paying $5k for it…it made it a felony…and by doing it over State lines…it may even become a federal issue.
F**k Apple. They make great products (most of the time) I won't doubt that. But just on principle, I've never bought an Apple product. I've always felt this way about them.
Most people turn a blind eye to all the shitty things Apple does, they choose to think of it as the closest thing to perfection.
Apologies I had to vent, but I kept it short.
FCK you and FCK your priciples. Why do you keep up on everything that Apple does, you even take the time to post comments about Apple. Loser!
Did Jason Chen pay $5000.00 for property he knew to be stolen? It's hard to feel too sorry for him if he did.
So you are okay with a publication buying stolen property and then revealing said proprietary info to the world and it's competitors as long as it is Apple because you don't like them? If this were any other company would you be okay with it? If this had been a Google phone and the DA decided to press charges you'd be totally against it?
How about we change this up a bit and just make it about stolen property? If say Chen's phone was left at a bar and someone took it and after snooping in it found lots of personal and business information that was not only secret, but crucial to how Gizmodo works and included future stories and exclusives, etc…and someone took said phone and sold it to a competing media outlet which then exposed that information…you think Gawker would just take that lying down? Would the DA just ignore it? Would they be all about journalistic integrity?
Theft…is theft. Apple, Dell, MS, Google…doesn't matter what company was involved.
what about journalistic integrity? Sounds like Gizmodo crossed the line and the DA decided to investigate. I'm not a fan of Apple, but this seems like a situation where it would have ben prudent to contact Apple before running a story about a unreleased prototype. Anyone who develops new technology would seek redress in this kind of a situation. It's a case of stolen intellectual property.
This will be an interesting case if the warrant does indeed turn out to be invalid. Every bit of information found on the computers will be inadmissable in court. Chen will have a cause for action against the police and possibly the DA.
Even though it is a prototype I as the judge would say to the DA “How many homes have you raided over a lost or stolen phone? How many computers have you seized in the investigation of a stole phone?” The answer will likely be “None”.
Think if you lost your phone the police and DA would put this much effort to find it? Not likely. And your phone can contain as much “proprietary” information on you (credit card numbers, personal contacts, etc.). This was only investigated because Apple is behind it. Great PR for Apple.
I would tend to agree that the actions by Mr. Chen suggest a crime took place. Why would he pay $5000 for a phone if he did not feel there was a chance to scoop a prototype product? Mr. Chen is trying to skirt his due diligence and state that he tried to contact Apple Support while brandishing an SR # as proof. I personally feel there will be a legal decision in the future that Mr. Chen did know this was a legal grey area and that Mr. Chen made insufficient effort to make it appear as if he tried to return the phone to its respectful owner. However, the act of purchasing a phone which was not his, knowing who the owner is, and exposing company prototype's secret workings to the world has got to lead to a conviction once the Apple's legal team sends the nuke.
wow, pretty interesting story.
Apple makes a huge deal about new product security. So when Gizmodo stole some of the thunder by buying the prototype, Apple had to escalate things to an unreasonable proportion. Got PR?
If Jason Chen broke the law, he broke the law. It doesn’t matter one little bit whether he had the scoop of the century. We develop and adhere to laws in our society, its the foundation of good citizenship!
I sure know that if someone profited from me whilst breaking laws to earn that profit, I’d sure want them prosecuted to the extent of the law, and if ‘damages’ were done, I’d want redress for those as well.
I, Apple, Microsoft, and everyone has a right to protection under the law, like I said, if he broke the law, he should pay!
do something “morally wrong” is not illegal. In addition, police seized property of a journalist is not to prevent freedom of expression? How to check Apple arrest warrant and the police?
If it was you or me we’d definitely get the book on this regardless it’s stolen property! The following should face severe criminal charges:
1) the person who lost the phone
2) the person who found the phone
3) the reporter who wrote the article on the phone
4) the person who issued the check for the phone
5) the owner of the publishing company
Bottom line they ALL new it didn’t belong to them with exceptions to the one who lost the phone which clearly should have not left with company property off apple’s premises.
There’s plenty of people who get caught with stolen property and if any of the 5 get away from this, I would expect the same should anyone else from this day on get caught with stolen property.
Honestly what a bunch of DUMA55ES for thinking any of them could get away without getting in trouble. They are all over 18, they have clear minds to use the best judgement to do the right thing.
The engineer should know he wasn’t supose to have apple’s property. It is not his in the first place.
The person who found it knows it wasn’t his in the first place. But sold it anyways?
The Gizmodo Editor should know the prototype doesn’t belong in public so he knew he could have contacted apple.
The person at Gizmodo signing the check to pay who and for what? That’s plenty of knowledge of what they were buying unless they play it off cooking the books.
Gizmodo owner? They have to be the final incarceration they paid for the damn thing. What did we buy for $5000 again? A prototype. It’s in their hands.
Once again if they get away with this, I guess the old saying “rules are ment to be broken” is back in effect. Along with no respect for the law, citizens, or those who enforce it. It’s all a joke right?
BTW and the idiots with the shield law or freedom of expression for a physical asset is stupid for not knowing the difference between speech and theft when the person accused is the criminal act. They don’t have the option to shhhhhh based on self prosecution. They are the suspect period….. If that’s no the case I mind as well become a journalist / murderer / even a rapist. Why not write about a murder that I have committed and get away with it? Idiot FOBs. M&D came to america for a reason what’s yours?