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ThinkSecret Shuts Down, Settles Apple Lawsuit

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Apple rumor site, ThinkSecret published a statement today indicating that they would no longer be published due to terms of a confidential settlement.
Apple and Think Secret have settled their lawsuit, reaching an agreement that results in a positive solution for both sides. As part of the confidential settlement, no sources were revealed and Think Secret will no longer be published. Nick Ciarelli, Think Secret's publisher, said "I'm pleased to have reached this amicable settlement, and will now be able to move forward with my college studies and broader journalistic pursuits."
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ThinkSecret has been one of the longest running Apple rumor sites, starting in 1999. Apple sued ThinkSecret in January of 2005 for posting Apple trade secrets and encouraging and inducing persons to provide product information in breach of agreements.

When contacted, Nick Ciarelli was unable to provide any further details but said, "I'm very satisfied with the settlement" and wished to thank the Electronic Frontier Foundation and his attorney, Terry Gross of Gross & Belsky, for their support.

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Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2007/12/20/thinksecret-shuts-down-settles-apple-lawsuit/
Wow. So, what will that mean for MR? I suspect an even greater status of Apple news, but not as many sneak-peaks.
 
Well it was good while it lasted. I'm very curious about the details of the settlement however. This sets a pretty good standard however of what might happen to rumour sites that start to play in the red zone.
 
Think Secret went through a long dry spell after Apple got on their case, but they seemed to be coming up with decent content over the last year. Very interesting developments...
 
Stepped on one too many toes it seems.

TS has been off the mark many times in the past few years anyway, losing my faith in them.
 
I always thought ThinkSecret danced a little close to the edge, and that MR is careful and reliable with what is published. I'm not that surprised, and I expect things around here will continue much as usual.
 
It's too bad they are shutting down. They always had something interesting to say. I can't recall them having too many stories recently with insider knowledge, although I could be wrong. Also, is it normal for settlements like these to be confidential?
 
Time to start a new one, one that is more resilient to attacks from Apple's lawyers.

Hmmmmm.....

Can't do it here, since that would jeopardize this site. And yet, there are people out there that still want to talk.....

:apple:
 
you gotta wonder how much the settlement was to Thinksecret to shut down? I see apple's legal and PR team offering TS ownership a 6 digit to low 7 digit figure to shut down and walk away. They lost their muster and a lot of pageviews over the past year or two. Too bad, good site.
 
Why all over sudden I see that 900 pound gorilla showing up on Thinksecrets door....

Sad day it is for the community. It is for a large part the rumors that attract new business.

Grrrr :mad:
 
macomposer said:
I always thought ThinkSecret danced a little close to the edge, and that MR is careful and reliable with what is published. I'm not that surprised, and I expect things around here will continue much as usual.
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Basically, TS had a VERY well informed insider source coming directly from within Apple. In that year that led up to Apple's switch to Intel and Tiger they had pretty much EVERYTHING foretold in advance. Apple here didn't really go after TS per say, their main goal was to find out WHO from the inside was leaking so much info. We'll probably know one day and we might be surprised to discover just how high up that person really was,,,
 
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