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Article Excerpt
Nick Ciarelli, a Harvard University student, is a big fan of the Apple computer company. He publishes a Web site, ThinkSecret.com, where he reviews Apple products, discusses them with other users, and posts news about the company. Ciarelli, who writes under the pen name Nick dePlume, started the site when he was 13 years old.
But Apple isn't returning his love: In January, the company filed a lawsuit against Ciarelli in Santa Clara County, California, saying he published confidential information--Apple's planned release of a new computer and new versions of the iPod--before the company made its own official announcement. Apple's lawsuit says the information constituted a trade secret that Ciarelli had no right to publish on his site. (Apple Computer, Inc. v. N. dePlume, No. 1-05-CV-033341 (Cal., Santa Clara County Sup. Ct. filed Jan. 4, 2005).)
Ciarelli's lawyer, Terry Gross of San Francisco, said his client is entitled to the same "reporter's shield" protections trader the First Amendment that any other journalist is.
Ciarelli's case is one in an emerging tug-of-war between companies and individuals who write about them online. Some sites, like ThinkSecret, are fan sites, but others are harshly critical "gripe sites." The cases call up questions about the limits of the First Amendment, the definitions of "journalist" and "publisher," and how far companies can go to protect confidential information.
"The Supreme Court has held repeatedly that journalists and publications can't be held liable, even if the information they publish was obtained illegally, as long as the information is newsworthy," said Gross. "That is clearly the case here: [Ciarelli] wrote that Apple was about to release these products, and these were the features they might have. This is obviously newsworthy."
Gross said Apple is claiming that Ciarelli interfered with its ability to control the release of its...
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