By Ingrid Marson, 18 January 2005 10:00
NEWS The 19-year-old student who runs Mac enthusiast site ThinkSecret.com, which is being sued by Apple, has warned he may struggle to afford to defend himself.
Apple filed court documents against ThinkSecret.com two weeks ago, alleging that recent postings on the site contain Apple trade secrets. The lawsuit aims to identify who is leaking the information and to get an injunction preventing further release of trade secrets.
Harvard University student Nicholas Ciarelli, who calls himself Nick dePlume online, is the publisher and editor of ThinkSecret.com. Ciarelli is not named as a defendant in the Apple lawsuit, but according to the Associated Press he needs free or low-cost legal help to defend himself against allegations that have been made.
Kurt Opsahl, an attorney for civil liberties group the Electronic Frontier Foundation, has claimed that in addition to the Think Secret site being subpoenaed for sources, Ciarelli is being directly sued for trade secret misappropriation.
A spokeswoman for Apple declined to comment on Ciarelli or on the Think Secret lawsuit.
ThinkSecret.com wrote at the end of December that Apple was expected to launch a small Mac computer, code-named Q88, priced at $499. Two weeks later Apple launched the Mac mini at Macworld.
An online petition has been started calling for Apple to withdraw the suit.
In a separate lawsuit, Apple is suing two men who it says distributed pre-release versions of Tiger, the next iteration of Mac OS X. It is also suing unnamed individuals who leaked details about a forthcoming music device code-named Asteroid.
Comments
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1. anonymous
Maybe we shoud all look at this and learn something! Think Secret - maybe the kid should admit that he was actually providing information that he shouldn't have. Did he honestly think that Apple would sit back and watch as code names and pricing starting showing up on the net. As a Mac fan I have to admit I love to look at this information - it's fun and kinda cool to get the sneek previews but Apple does have a right to protect its investments. We should all think about what is happening here before blaming either group and find a nice niche to cozy up in and stay there - we can still have fun ; )
2. Frodo Jones
The dude is a student at Harvard -- his parents can bankroll his defense. Nothing to see here. Could we all please direct our outrage at, say, the massive corruption in the Bush administration?
3. anonymous
Are apple in financial problems, having to stoop to the level of sueing. Are they afraid that leeks are going to effect their business?
Has this leek realy damaged them, the new mac mini thing is a dead duck anyway. Why not use people like this to increase the hype prior to the official release, get the consumers sniffing.
All this talk of legal action is stupid, can apple not see how pathetic they are doing this. They are stooping to new levels even lower than M$. I bet Bill Grates is loving this.
It still makes me not want to buy apple products
4. anonymous
>The dude is a student at Harvard -- his parents can bankroll his defense. Nothing to see here
You are an ignorant fool. Even a Clinton Apologist like you shouldn't be making wide ranging generalizations about a person simply because of the name of his school.
MANY students at Harvard, and every other college in the nation, are accepted by working hard for it. Part-time jobs, scholarships, grants, Financial Aid, and yes, even parents all help to let kids get the education that they DESERVE.
You obviously didn't have the common sense to make in to college, or you would have seen this first hand.