Re: 8/3/00 - Apple says trade secrets posted online / Apple Files Suit to Stop Web Posting of Trade Secrets
Apple says trade secrets posted online
In a lawsuit, the company says an unknown individual posted images of its new mouse and dual-processor Power Mac G4 months before their release.
By Sean Silverthorne, ZDNet News
August 2, 2000 12:06 PM PT
Apple Computer Inc. is suing an unknown individual or individuals who posted images and disclosed details of unannounced products.
In a lawsuit filed in Santa Clara (Calif.) Superior Court Wednesday, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) said digital images of its new ApplePro Mouse and Power Mac G4 were posted on several Web sites months before the products' release last month.
Apple does not know who is responsible for leaking the information.
The suit does not name the sites where the images were allegedly posted, but several Apple rumor sites regularly trade in publishing information Apple considers confidential.
The suit says images of the new mouse were posted on the Internet around Feb. 16, long before its official release July 19.
Photos of the Power Mac G4 were posted Feb. 16, according to the company.
The suit says also that Apple believes the person responsible has publicly posted trade secret information about other Apple products that Apple has not publicly disclosed.
Apple is asking for compensatory and exemplary damages and an injunction against further publishing.
"Apple is informed and believes that Doe 1 is continuing and will continue to misappropriate Apple's Future Product Information," the lawsuit states. "By reason of that ongoing misappropriation, Apple will suffer great and irreparable harm and damage..."
The company has aggressively gone after individuals and companies it believes have abused its trademarks and copyrights, including a high-profile action against companies who Apple believed too closely copied the distinctive iMac design.
zdnet.com
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August 3, 2000
Apple Files Suit to Stop Web Posting of Trade Secrets
By REUTERS
CUPERTINO, Calif., -- Apple Computer Inc. said Wednesday it filed a lawsuit against an unknown individual who posted pictures of its dual-processor G4 computer and its Apple Pro mouse on the Internet before their official introduction.
The complaint, filed in the Superior Court for Santa Clara County, Calif., seeks an injunction against further disclosure of Apple's trade secrets as well as monetary damages, the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer maker said in statement.
According to the lawsuit, in February the unknown individual or individuals posted images of the dual-processor Power Mac G4 before its introduction July 19. Then again, in late June, this same person posted images of the Apple Pro Mouse, also announced on July 19, on the Internet.
There are many sites on the Internet devoted to Apple and its computers, and the company has an avid, loyal following that leads to much speculation on what products Apple and its co-founder and Chief Executive Steve Jobs will next introduce.
Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple on July 19 in New York unveiled a broader, new line of computers aimed at boosting computer power and sales. It unveiled additional colors -- such as indigo, ruby, snow and sage -- for its popular iMac computer. The company, in addition to announcing the Power Mac G4, announced a cube-shaped, quieter version of the G4 computer.
It also announced a deal it had struck with Circuit City Inc. to sell computers at its stores nationwide. Analysts said at the time that the new product lines were likely to boost sales in coming quarters.
Apple shares fell 2-1/16 to 47-1/4 in Nasdaq trading on Wednesday. The stock has risen 77 percent in the last 12 months, but is down 37 percent from its year-high reached on March 23. So far this year, Apple shares have fallen 4.1 percent.
nytimes.com |
