Law Enforcement Reportedly Looking Into Circumstances of Lost Next-Generation iPhone

[lindafus]

What trade secrets

You are joking right?

The damage Apple has suffered are certainly loss of their "trade secrets" and the associated stock price related benefit that this would have garnered at official release time (although stock price benefit would be hard to equate).

And seeing as it involves "trade secrets" it makes it a criminal case, as many have already suggested. So jail time could follow.

Oh really? The only crime committed here is the EMPLOYEE who took the 'TRADE SECRET' out into the public for the world to see and leave it there! Apple may have a criminal case against the said employee who had possession of that phone for leaking trade secrets because the moron left it for the public to see? That phone could not have been kept too secret it was swinging out and about in a bar!!!! Explain that to a judge?

Finder of the phone is not in trouble - it is only a cell phone! No one really knew it was a true pre-release product under secret key. Even Gizmodo said they really did not know, they paid to put it out there and who would not? It was good gossip!

The only guilty party here is APPLE and their moron EMPLOYEE!! DUH!

 

[.Andy]

Wow.

So you don't mind stealing as long as it's possible to have stolen more?

Just...huh...wow

No you didn't read properly. If I lose my wallet I don't consider it stealing. I consider it my own stupidity. What I don't mind is people taking the cash if they find my wallet and returning the rest. Just as I'd hand over the cash (or try to do so) if someone returned it to me in person.

 

[al256]

Its not the law's responsibility to spin what the media will say about them. The law is the law. Action and consequence. If there's never any consequence (i.e. if all that happens is a notice gets released) - that's a free pass for any and all action, since there will never be any consequence. Don't blame the law when the media is at fault.

The law exists for the greater good, there are many other ways law enforcement's limit resources can be used to make California a better place.

 

[Small White Car]

No one really knew it was a true pre-release product under secret key. Even Gizmodo said they really did not know, they paid to put it out there and who would not? It was good gossip!

Gizmodo buys regular 3GS iPhones for $5,000? News to me!

 

[trrosen]

Reminds me of an ******* manager I worked with at a retail store. He and a female part-timer found a wallet out in the mall. Had ID and everything. They pulled out the $200. Split it. And mailed the wallet back to the poor guy with a note "hey we found your wallet." They actually justified it by saying "if we hadn't done it someone else would have and they wouldn't have been as nice to mail back the ID and wallet."

Hmm theft and conspiracy. Thats called multitasking.

 

[allpar]

"I'm sure that there's more important things that the police could be doing than investigating a lost phone."

As I understand it, research shows that when small crimes are ignored, big crimes quickly follow as criminals try to find the enforcement line.

I also recall when they cracked down on small crimes in NYC - first in the subways, then on the streets - the quality of life increased markedly.

So yes, I think the police should definitely investigate lost phones, especially when they know who "found" (or possibly stole) them.

Remember, we have ONLY the "finder's" word that he "found" it and didn't take it from a pocket.

 

[drjsway]

It was theft as soon as the guy touched the phone. When you see something that doesn't belong to you in a private place (like a bar), you have no right to take it. Either don't touch it at all or, if you believe it was lost, tell the bartender

 

[notjustjay]

I know. It's ridiculous. People complain about Apple's secrecy and spend their time on a rumors site for Apple, and then as soon as there's a leak, they complain that it's unfair to Apple

Awesome. Since we like rumors so much, how about we follow an Apple engineer home, kidnap him, and force him to spill the beans on all of Apple's new products. We'll get an exclusive preview! We could sell the info to tech blogs and make thousands of dollars!

Not a fan of that idea? Well maybe we could steal an employee access badge, and sneak our way into some labs?

Ooh, I know, we could bribe an Apple employee to "lose" his security badge. We'll BUY it off him so it's a fair deal. That's legal, right?

 

[satcomer]

Gizmodo is full of a class jerks. Remember they even got banned from CES just this last January.

Anyone who thinks these jerks are ethical are really smoking something.

 

[BaldiMac]

The law exists for the greater good, there are many other ways law enforcement's limit resources can be used to make California a better place.

I sure hope law enforcement would investigate if someone stole something worth $5,000 or more from me!

 

[.Andy]

Gizmodo is full of a class jerks. Remember they even got banned from CES just this last January.

Anyone who thinks these jerks are ethical are really smoking something.

I think you're smoking something if you think 2008 was last january.

 

[quagmire]

Oh really? The only crime committed here is the EMPLOYEE who took the 'TRADE SECRET' out into the public for the world to see and leave it there! Apple may have a criminal case against the said employee who had possession of that phone for leaking trade secrets because the moron left it for the public to see? That phone could not have been kept too secret it was swinging out and about in a bar!!!! Explain that to a judge?

Finder of the phone is not in trouble - it is only a cell phone! No one really knew it was a true pre-release product under secret key. Even Gizmodo said they really did not know, they paid to put it out there and who would not? It was good gossip!

The only guilty party here is APPLE and their moron EMPLOYEE!! DUH!

I am sure he had permission to take the prototype out to do some field testing.

This is nothing new. Companies always take prototypes out in the wild for field testing. If you found the keys to a prototype Chevy Volt and took it, GM wouldn't be looking to charge the employee with a crime, but YOU! Same thing here. Employee was field testing prototype. He lost it. Founder stole it. Thus founder gets charged.

 

[PixelFactory]

Gizmodo buys regular 3GS iPhones for $5,000? News to me!

That's where Gizmodo is in trouble. They were reasonably positive that this was an iPhone prototype. Therefore they knew or at least hoping they were buying something from someone who was not the owner.

 

[the vj]

From my naive point of view...

The iPhone was returned to its owner. The law says lost objects should be returned but there is not time frame for it. It could be returned in a year and still withing the law.

So, there are gray areas in the issue. Gizmodo didn't stoled the iPhone at all and Apple never released a warning and there is not a law that says that lost objects have to be addressed to the restaurant/bar where they were found.


Again, Gozmodo was not obligated to do anything legally, only morally and they did, now that they took advantage... that is another issue.

The one in big problems should be the Apple employee.

For sure Apple wants to teach a lesson here.

 

[chewbaccacabra]

Wow.

So you don't mind stealing as long as it's possible to have stolen more?

Just...huh...wow

Last week my friends wife lost her purse at a food court while trying to juggle a baby, diaper bag, shopping bag. A nice girl found it and was able to phone her. Everything was in the purse. The reward was a $25 Starbucks gift card. Very fair. And the finder probably felt pretty good about herself. Hell, I know I would.

Maybe the reward for the iphone finder (and his silence) would have been a nice collection of Apple products.

 

[Nebrie]

From the same crowd that endlessly speculates & breaks down every supposed Best Buy inventory screen shot & NOW you are mad someone gave you a legit sneak peek two months early???? Give it a rest people. The engineer is a Apple employee= HE IS APPLE. APPLE LOST THE PHONE. APPLE IGNORED MULTIPLE REQUESTS TO RETURN THE DEVICE. APPLE NEEDS TO SHUT UP & GO BACK TO COUNTING THEIR MONEY.

That's one side of the story. Gray's father has stated that the iPhone was stolen from his son.

 

[tigress666]

Please explain to me how someone losing an item, another finding it equates to theft.

You know it really disgusts me some of the peoples' idea of ethics on here.

I don't even care if it is legally ok (it isn't BTW). It's morally wrong. That phone is not yours. It is most definitely an item some one would come back looking for and would have a way of being able to show that it is theirs (it's not like a five dollar bill where there would be no way of proving it was yours unless some one saw it fall out of your pocket/you leave it/whatever).

Yeah, they may have been stupid and accidentally left their phone. But it is also stupid to leave something expensive (say a laptop) sitting in your car in plain site (especailly with the door unlocked). Does that make it right for some one to say, well, they were asking for it, and take your laptop?

I really hope all of you who are claiming that since it was lost the person taking it should keep it have karma bite you bigtime in the butt. You're not invulnerable to making stupid mistakes and I don't care who you are. You're still human.

 

[iOrlando]

I'm sure that there's more important things that the police could be doing than investigating a lost phone.

The phone was returned to Apple at the end of the day.

Glad its not my tax dollars going to waste on this investigation!

oh please, same stuff goes down in your local police department. 60% of police calls are for the stupidest things in the world such as someone uprooted my flowers, someone rang my door bell and ran.etc

 

[trrosen]

Finder of the phone is not in trouble - it is only a cell phone! No one really knew it was a true pre-release product under secret key. Even Gizmodo said they really did not know,

The question for criminal charges is not "did they know it was Apple's?" it is "did they know it wasn't theirs?". The answer of course is yes. So they are guilty of theft and trafficking stolen goods.

 

[chimpboy74]

I think, at least from my perspective, I would rather not have had the full phone leaked because it ruins the sense of anticipation come WWDC. People like having inventories and sketchy pictures because it gives them an inside perspective without ruining it for them. I know it may sound ridiculous, but I would rather have that than know fully what the device is before it's released.

Exactly. It's a bit like a striptease. You enjoy the tantalising glimpses before a big reveal. To have someone expose almost everything too quickly takes the fun out of it.

Did I just compare the iPhone to a stripper?

 

[Digitalclips]

Here we go again, way to go spending tax and resources on cr@p that won't solve or lead to anything but ice-cream news.

Perhaps punishing criminals is a deterrent? Just a thought.

 

[satcomer]

I think you're smoking something if you think 2008 was last january.

My bad. Sorry!

 

[al256]

Yes! As would law enforcement in all 50 states, Canada and most of the civilized world.

Just remember, it's only okay if the government takes your property away. Or by your sense of justice would they be thieves as well?

 

[LagunaSol]

Law enforcement doesn't have better crap to waste their time on?

You mean than to actually enforce the law?

What was stolen exaclty?

Here we go again.

And I don't want my tax dollars spent on pursuing ridulous things like this.

I know. Instead of law enforcement enforcing the law, they should be, I dunno, playing Farmville or something.

I can't emphasize this enough, the iPhone was not the engineer's property.

Bill Clinton would be proud of your legal rationalization.

I sure hope law enforcement would investigate if someone stole something worth $5,000 or more from me!

Indeed. The Apple haters will unite under the opinion that it's a "dick move" for Apple to pursue criminal or civil charges in this incident. Conversely, they would be screaming bloody murder if someone ripped off their expensive phone, found the identity of the rightful owner on the phone, yet sold it to someone else anyway.

Hypocrisy. It's what's for dinner.

 

[maceleven]

There's a App for that

Paid $5000 for a stolen 4th Generation iPhone prototype and are trying to evade law enforcement "Theres a App for that"

Check out this application:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scanner911-live-police-fire/id333246187?mt=8