Apple vs. Think Secret

It's nice how, if you're not good enough to come up with all the legal terms you'd need to write a posting about a topic you care about, someone else will usually do it. So, all you have to do is lead other people there, and thus make sure it gets read.

Today MacSlash mentions a posting by Jeff Harrell on Apple vs. ThinkSecret he presents a lot of arguments and comes to the conclusion that Apple is not trying to kill the press. Rather, Apple is going after a breach of contract, which was encouraged by ThinkSecret's Nick Chiarelli.

And that's the whole point most people keep missing: It wasn't just a case of someone leaking wrong product facts and thus causing disappointment about a product like John Gruber wrote. No, people who had access to Apple's product prices and plans signed a contract saying they wouldn't disclose information about them until a certain time, and then they broke it. And when Nick received this information, he knew about these contracts.

So, do I think Apple is right to sue Nick? Yes. Do I think Apple should set a precedent to all other people thinking about encouraging leaks? Yes. Do I think Apple should be nice to Nick and let him off the hook for now? ... Yeah, I guess so. That guy's only 19, after all.