Apple Agrees To Hang Fire On Subpoenas

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

18 February 2005

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is acting on behalf of the creators of two websites alleged to have leaked information regarding a forthcoming Apple project, the firm has agreed to stay subpoenas issued to ascertain the source of the confidential information until a hearing has taken place next month.

Following publication by the PowerPage and AppleInsider websites of information on an unreleased interface for Apple's music creation application, code-named Asteroid, the firm sought to discover who had leaked trade secrets to the sites in question by issuing a subpoena to PowerPage's ISP, Nfox.com, which would require the internet service provider to comb site creator, Jason O'Grady's e-mails for any mention of 'Asteroid'.

Although the EFF acknowledged that Apple may be justified in suing anonymous individuals under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, it argued that its clients may be protected under the federal shield law created by the First Amendment, given that their websites are journalistic in nature.

It has additionally taken issue with the techniques used by Apple to track down the source of the leak. Speaking to the eWeek news service, policy analyst for the Foundation, Annalee Newitz explained that:

"Apple's tried to do an end run around the shield laws."

The EFF has filed a request with the Superior Court of Santa Clara County in California, asking for a protective order to be put in place on its clients.

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