Apple Suing 19 Yr. Old Harvard Student Over Speech Issue On Web Site

[One of our brethren needs an attorney for a case that
seems a little lopsided and draconian on Apple's part.
Perry]

[Extract from SF Chronicle article today:]

The 19-year-old publisher of a Web site facing a
lawsuit over an article about a top-secret $499 Apple
computer said Friday he can't afford to defend
himself.

Apple Computer Inc. is suing Harvard University
student Nicholas Ciarelli's Web site,
www.ThinkSecret.com, alleging it illegally published
company trade secrets. The Jan. 4 lawsuit also targets
the Web site's unnamed sources for the leaks.

Ciarelli, whose identity as the site's publisher and
editor was only published this week, is not named as a
defendant. But he still needs a lawyer, and said he is
hoping to find free or low-cost legal help to argue
that he deserves First Amendment protection and used
proper newsgathering techniques to break news about
the Mac mini computer and other inside information
about Apple.

"A lot of lawyers are interested in my case, but few
are able to do it for free or low cost," Ciarelli, of
Cazenovia, N.Y., said in an e-mail interview. "I'm
seeking representation."

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San
Francisco-based civil liberties group, said Friday it
would not defend Think Secret even though it is
defending two other sites, AppleInsider.com and
PowerPage.org, that Apple is trying to subpoena to
reveal sources.

Unlike the Think Secret case, those sites are not
being sued.

"In addition to being subpoenaed for sources, he's
being directly sued for trade secret
misappropriation," said Kurt Opsahl, a staff attorney
with the organization. "We're trying to find him
counsel."

Ciarelli, who described himself as "an enthusiastic
fan of Apple's products since an early age," started
www.ThinkSecret.com in 1998 when he was 13. The site,
which accepts advertising, is read by Apple
enthusiasts and industry analysts because of its
exclusive stories about company developments.

On Dec. 28, the Web site published an article that,
citing "highly reliable sources," revealed details of
an inexpensive, bare-bones Mac mini computer that
would be priced at $499 -- two weeks before the Mac
mini was launched at Apple's MacWorld conference.

Another Think Secret story on Jan. 6 correctly
predicted Apple's rollout at this week's show of a
$149, 1-gigabite flash-memory version of the company's
popular iPod music player. The Web site goofed,
though, on some of the details, citing sources
suggesting Apple would also offer a 2-gigabyte version
for $199.

In a statement Friday, Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple
said the Web site "solicited information about
unreleased Apple products from these individuals, who
violated their confidentiality agreements with Apple
by providing details that were later posted on the
Internet."

Apple declined to answer questions Friday about
whether Ciarelli, who called himself Nick dePlume
online instead of using his real name, would also be
sued.

Ciarelli's identity as the site's editor and publisher
had circulated recently on the Internet, but the
information only became widely known on Wednesday,
when The Harvard Crimson, the university's student
newspaper, confirmed it.

The Think Secret case is the third
intellectual-property lawsuit that Apple has filed
recently. Apple also sued two men who allegedly
distributed pre-released versions of its upcoming
version of its Mac OS X software, as well as unnamed
individuals for allegedly leaking details about a
future and as yet-unannounced music product,
code-named Asteroid.

At the MacWorld show on Tuesday, executives said the
company is merely defending itself.

"Innovation is what Apple is all about, and we want to
continue to innovate and surprise and delight people
with great products, so we have a right to protect our
innovation and secrecy," said Phil Schiller, Apple's
senior vice president of worldwide product marketing.

Perry Gregg
VP Communications, Board of Directors
Harvard Club of San Francisco
Nob Hill
800 Powell Street
San Francisco, California 94108

bengt@post.harvard.edu