Apple v. DePlume [1]

DePlume's blog, Think Secret, published a report about a new $500 monitor-less iMac, new iWork software, and the price and features of the Mac Mini days before MacWorld 2005. In January 2005, Apple sued DePlume and his company for misappropriation of trade secrets, seeking an injunction to bar publication of its proprietary information, money damages, and discovery of the identity of DePlume's sources. Apple's claim was unusual because DePlume was not an Apple employee and was not bound by any confidentiality agreement. Apple argued that DePlume should nevertheless be held liable because he encouraged leaks of confidential information through an anonymous email system and a voice-mail tip line.

On March 4, 2005, DePlume filed a motion to strike the complaint pursuant to California's anti-SLAPP statute (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 425.16 [2]). The motion remained pending for years, but the court did not issue a decision on it.

In December 2007, Think Secret announced that the parties had settled the case. Under the agreement, the full terms of which are confidential, ThinkSecret agreed to cease operations. DePlume never revealed his sources.

Related case:

Apple also sought disclosure of documents and information from Think Secret in a case relating to its "Asteroid" product. Apple initially obtained permission to issue a subpoena requiring Think Secret to produce documents identifying its confidential sources for reports about the "Asteroid" product. This subpoena was quashed in O'Grady v. Superior Court [3], 139 Cal.App.4th 1423 (Cal. Ct. App. 2006), in which the court held that various Apple-related news sites could block disclosure of their anonymous sources and unpublished information based on California's reporter's shield provision and the First Amendment to the US Constitution. (Please see the CMLP datatabase entry [4] on the Apple v. Does case).