Police Seize Gizmodo Editor's Computers and Other Property Related to Lost Next-Generation iPhone

[Number 41]

Speaking as a DA -- if you think that this warrant and search was a spur of the moment idea, think again.

This is a huge, high profile matter. The warrant was, likely, cleared by the DA's office before it even went to a judge for a signature. They've anticipated claims by Gizmodo and defenses. They've probably been working on this for several days. On something this big and with national attention, they're not going to screw up something like a warrant.

 

[quinntaylor]

Any rational thinkers in the room?

Don't know why, but even on the Internet, it shocks me that so many people immediately (a) side with Gizmodo "against the man", (b) speculate that Apple ordered or otherwise influenced a raid on Jason Chen's house, and/or (c) shrug the whole thing off as no big deal.

First off, who cares that an Apple employee lost the phone? Does that suddenly mean that someone who finds it can do whatever they darn well please, without regard for ethics, and without responsibility or consequences for their actions? Think what you will, but I was raised to do "the right thing". There will always be dishonest people in the world, but if someone found something belonging to you, would you rather they were honest or a crook? Wouldn't a decent person have given the phone to the bartender or contacted the owner directly to return it? Personally, I think the guy who "found" it deserves what's very likely coming to him.

Has anyone considered the precedent it would set if Gizmodo weren't held accountable for this episode? Would it suddenly become okay for any journalist to purchase stolen (or "lost") property to get a scoop? What if a "journalist" purchases something stolen directly from a company's campus, and claims he didn't know it was stolen? This could easily become a slippery slope of shady reasoning, and it doesn't surprise me in the least that the legal process is moving into action. Well done.

I'd venture a guess that Apple isn't the only company in Silicon Valley that cares about the outcome of this. Even though Apple is easily the most secretive tech firm in the valley, nobody wants to be open to these kind of risks and not be able to do a darn thing about it.

 

[cmaier]

For those of you with legal minds - would Gizmodo be in this much trouble if they'd only photographed the exterior of the phone and not dismantled the entire thing?

They'd be in less trouble, but buying the phone for $5000 was still a big mistake. It would be hard to argue that they revealed trade secrets when the secrets were readily observable to anyone looking at the phone. But since the phone was misappropriated, not merely found by Jason Chen or something, it would be a close case, IMHO (again, assuming there was no payment).

 

[rasoetan]

Responsible reporting

I believe that Gizmodo acted irresponsibly. Simply because you can do something does not mean you should. Prematurely making public this iphone could have far reaching business implications. It's not just about us seeing what the phone will look like, the competition is now also given an unfair advantage over Apple. They knew this was a stolen item, they decided to pay $5k for it so that they can blast it all over the net (for their own benefit), so I feel they deserve what is coming to them.

 

[sleeks]

To prove he's the guy who wrote the articles which illegally published apple's trade secrets, to find email communications between him and the seller, etc.

^ This.

Personally, I don't think this is about stolen property. Gizmodo will claim all day long (and they may have even believed) that this was a counterfit knockoff (before they opened it up).

However, once they opened and saw what was inside and verified it was the real deal, they should have stopped and called Apple. (Hell, they could have called Apple prior to buying it and helped reunite Apple with the phone. You know Gizmodo knew who to call to get this done). Had they done that, none of this would be an issue and the cops/Apple wouldn't be pressing the legal side of things. Since they posted what is considered to be trade secret information, they have exposed Apple's next device to their competition early. That is most likely what Apple is upset about and I really don't blame them.

 

[Correcto]

Think like a prosecutor. This is potentially a high-profile criminal prosecution, with the national media directing their attention toward—you.

Once the story got picked up by major media, this was inevitable, even if Apple did want to just drop it.

 

[tmofee]

cue the weeks of "we're the victims here!" posts by gizmodo to come.

 

[blackpond]

This has MASSIVELY pissed me off. What a vile bunch of **** Apple are.

Sorry to ruin your day... but this is reality we live in after all.

Good for Apple protecting their trade secrets.

 

[The Samurai]

A ha ha ha FAIL

What goes around... comes around.

Anyone got pics of Jason handcuffed? Willing to pay $5k. kthxbi.

 

[kiljoy616]

Yes. They always could, and always should if instead of trying to restore lost property to its owner you decide you're going to just go ahead and sell it for $5,000. That's because it is the law of the land, and because if someone finds something that belongs to someone else who lost it, and if reasonable effort could return the property to its rightful owner, and if you fail to exert that effort and simply treat the property as your own, you are a poor excuse for a civilized human being.

So you go ahead and roll your eyes. I'm shaking my head.

I am now go get apples paycheck, your also the one that thinks watergate was a bad idea. Screw Apple, but then I did not expect much from them or Jobs any way, so new news but old habits.

 

[PlutoPrime]

**** you Apple.

Gizmodo got hold of a device that obviously Apple didn't intend to release. They PAID $$$ knowing that it was in demand because it was a leak and against the wishes of apple.

If I had lost my personal phone and someone got a hold of it and paid for it instead of returning it to me, I would report them to police and try my best to have them prosecuted. I think you shouldn't insult Apple just because they happen to be a large and successful company. They have EVERY right to protect their assets and expect the same type of treatment for their lost property as you would if you lost your wallet.

 

[macquariumguy]

For those of you with legal minds - would Gizmodo be in this much trouble if they'd only photographed the exterior of the phone and not dismantled the entire thing?

IANAL, but Giz put themselves in hot water when they paid for the phone. Anything short of taking it directly to the police after that is a Do Not Pass Go proposition.

 

[ouimetnick]

Shiznit is about to go down!



And if the finder of the phone had returned it to Apple rather than selling it, we wouldn't be having this discussion.



Ya totally, big companies should, like, disregard the law. And stuff.



Perhaps Mr. Chen & Co. should have thought about this more carefully?











The Apple Haters Brigade is not known for rational thought.





Amen. I was mostly amused by the situation until they threw the engineer under the bus. Completely unnecessary and cruel. Payback time.

Gizmodo = sleaze. And it's too bad, as it's Engadget that tolerates the rabid anti-Apple propaganda machine in its comments section. Gizmodo has always done a reasonable job filtering out the trolls.

But Engadget was smart to steer clear of this fiasco and let Gizmodo stick their foot in it.

While the FINDER should have returned it to Apple, Apple should be stupid and give a prototype iPhone worth more that you would think it is (R&D, trade secrets) to some immature dumbass "engineer" This Gray guy obviously isn't ready to handle trade secrets. You DON'T go out and get drunk, with a important gadget. First off a mature person wouldn't be getting drunk anyways. And to get drunk with a prototype? Thats Gray Powell's fault. Also its apples. They can't be expecting an immature 27 year old guy to not get drunk.
I hostly don't care if the seller dude stole it. Apple shouldn't be giving a very important thing to some retard that gets drunk and loses it. Its Gizmodo's job to report tech news, and they did their job.
Yes the finder should have done more, and Giz should have returned it sooner. But they didn't know it was a prototype... it could have been a knockoff and they purchased a real deal.

 

[bobr1952]

Anyone with an ounce of common sense can see that Gizmodo is in the wrong here and the Cali DA is right to investigate. If Gizmodo thinks they can hide behind journalistic privilege on this they are severely misinformed. They knew the phone was technically 'stolen property' when they purchased it.

This is also a CRIMINAL case. Apple is not directing this investigation, so stop blaming Apple. Their property, both physical and intellectual, was stolen and sold. The item was lost, not abandoned. An extremely high value stolen item - law enforcement typically investigates these types of things...

I think it's awesome we got a peek at this phone, but Gizmodo did it with ZERO journalistic integrity.

Kind of like finding a bag of money with the name of the bank on it, not much defense there if you don't return it.

 

[cmaier]

^ This.

Personally, I don't think this is about stolen property. Gizmodo will claim all day long (and they may have even believed) that this was a counterfit knockoff (before they opened it up).

That has apple logos on, shows the "connect to itunes" screen, and which was worth $5000 for a look-see.

Yeah, good luck with that Gizmodo.

 

[charliehustle]

Haha.. This keeps getting better and better..

Don't you love government resources being spent on these "violent criminals"?

 

[maknik]

Guy who left phone in bar: dumb

Guy who picked up phone and sold it to Gizmodo: scum

Gizmodo buying phone and publishing pics: sleazy

Gizmodo posting name of Apple loser: sleazy

Apple's secrecy policies: revenue-boosting but lunatic

Apple pressing charges for theft: understandable but still dickish

The police pursuing criminal charges: cops love defending rich property owners

Cops confiscating everything: legal but the law makes seizure way too easy

Gizmodo's "journalism" defense: if professional bloggers aren't journalists, soon there won't be any journalists

---

See, it's easy. Everyone is behaving badly. I personally sided with Gizmodo over Apple (whose censorship policies have really turned me off them recently), but sided with the Apple employee (hurt the most here) over Gizmodo. I understand Apple's need to press charges here, but I think the ease with which a warrant can be obtained to scoop up everything is ridiculous. Now Jason is in jeopardy for totally irrelevant TV shows he may have downloaded, which sucks. And I totally side with the "journalism" defense because online journalism is increasingly the heart of journalism now, and needs protection -- even it is worthless tech reporting like Gizmodo does. Your weightings of these things may of course differ, but the point is, no side comes out clean after this.

 

[willie0683]

Its just them showing their true colors, oh well let the lawyers have fun now, and next time take the phone out of state, california is one crazy police state, don't think so go live in LA weeee.

If you take the phone out of the state it becomes a federal crime. And that will open an entire new world of hurt for gizmodo.

 

[MacSlut]

Do you really think the police would react this much or even get involved at all if one of us lost a phone that was then sold for $5,000 then returned to us? They might do something, but they wouldn't be raiding houses taking away computers and hard drives. It would be a very low priority case.

I live very close to Redwood City, in Palo Alto. A person was found with a cell phone that belonged to me. The police contacted the phone company, tracked me down and returned the phone. The value of the phone was just enough to charge the guy with a felony...and they did.

For those upset at Apple...

I didn't do anything other than go to the police station and fill out forms to get my phone back. They decided to charge him with a felony on their own.

Apple didn't report the iPhone stolen...Gizmodo reported the iPhone stolen, complete with pictures and an endless posted account of how they committed the felony...oh, and to be extra douchey, they outed the engineer who lost the iPhone.

Lesson learned...don't steal. Don't buy stolen stuff. Don't post on and on about what douchebags you are.

 

[cmaier]

While the FINDER should have returned it to Apple, Apple should be stupid and give a prototype iPhone worth more that you would think it is (R&D, trade secrets) to some immature dumbass "engineer" This Gray guy obviously isn't ready to handle trade secrets. You DON'T go out and get drunk, with a important gadget. First off a mature person wouldn't be getting drunk anyways. And to get drunk with a prototype? Thats Gray Powell's fault. Also its apples. They can't be expecting an immature 27 year old guy to not get drunk.

He was asking for it. He was wearing a short skirt and low cut blouse.

Give me a break.

 

[theloon]

Screw you Apple

There is little doubt that Apple pressed for this warrant.

It is enough to make me stop buying their products if this is going to be their tactics. An employee lost a phone, big deal, this is so far over the top it's crazy.

Today we already heard that Apple is telling some other guy he has "exceeded his life time limit on iPads" and now this crap....

**** you Apple... and I'm a FAN ! Just imagine the millage from people that hate your products!!!

Idiots.

 

[Silenthillnight]

It was stolen under Cali law because abandonment wasn't established clearly (losing something does not equal abandonment) and reasonable efforts (e.x. going to the public profile page of the Apple Employee who sat next to you and you saw on the lost device, sending a message)...Gizmodo knew it wasn't the seller's property.

At that point, Gizmodo bought stolen property, and under more Cali law, since the device was illicitly obtained, the revelation of trade secrets are illegal civilly too.

This

Companies are extremely protective of their intellectual property. Engadget was smart enough not to accept the guy's offer but Giz rolled the dice. They jumped into it going as far as dismantling the item and taking images of the inner components. If they were too dumb to realize this would put them in hot water, then they deserve their current fate. I bet if they only took external shots of the phone, this may not have happened.

 

[dejo]

...Apple should be stupid and give a prototype iPhone worth more that you would think it is (R&D, trade secrets) to some immature dumbass "engineer"

Isn't that what they did?

Don't you love government resources being spent on these "violent criminals"?

Strawman alert!

 

[bobob]

"THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

THEN THEY CAME for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

THEN THEY CAME for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came...

At this point I don't care who is "right" and who is "wrong". It no longer matters. Soon it will be each and every one of us [yes, even YOU] Maybe not today, and maybe not next week. . but soon enough. You have no law to hide behind, they have purchased it part and parcel. You have no enforcement agency to protect you. They own it.

You don't have to believe me, but I know you'll remember my words WHEN it happens.

Heh - - what a perversion of that epigram!

Next they came for the thieves and murderers, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a thief or a murderer...

 

[AbSoluTc]

There is little doubt that Apple pressed for this warrant.

It is enough to make me stop buying their products if this is going to be their tactics. An employee lost a phone, big deal, this is so far over the top it's crazy.

Today we already heard that Apple is telling some other guy he has "exceeded his life time limit on iPads" and now this crap....

**** you Apple... and I'm a FAN ! Just imagine the millage from people that hate your products!!!

Idiots.

As if Apple or anyone else cares. Lol.