Police Raid Gizmodo Editor's Home Over iPhone 4G
Gizmodo management says warrant for Jason Chen's house was invalid.
The big news of last week was Gizmodo's acquisition of the iPhone prototype, but after the initial oohs and ahhs from the reveal, the fallout that followed concerned both the moral and legal questions of how that iPhone made it away from Apple.
While there haven't been any formal complaints yet, the New York Times reports that the San Mateo district attorney could by early next week file criminal charges in connection with the sale of a missing next-generation iPhone belonging to Apple.
CNet also reports that a computer crime task force called REACT, which stands for Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team, is investigating the Gizmodo iPhone event as well. Apple has supposedly already spoken with the local law enforcement, but none of the parties involved are commenting on the situation.
UPDATE: Police have raided Gizmodo editor Jason Chen's home and have seized some four computers and two servers.
A dream come true in the form of an Apple iPhone 4G prototype may have become Gawker Media's worst nightmare, as authorities have just raided the house of Gizmodo editor Jason Chen. According to the Associated Press, members of REACT confiscated computers, digital cameras, his cell phone, and many other electronic items in relation to a possible felony regarding to the "lost" prototype. The team also took an American Express card statement and copies of his checks.
The search warrant, issued by a Superior Court judge in San Mateo County, alleges that the devices owned by Jason Chen may have been used in a felony. However Gawker Media's Nick Denton believes that California law--which protects journalists from turning over anonymous sources or unpublished material to law enforcement during a search--also applies to Chen's personal property.
The big question at the moment is what defines the online writer: are they journalists, or are they bloggers? "I guess we'll find out," Denton told the AP.
The DA's office is currently investigating that particular issue.
UPDATE 2: Looks like the investigation into Chen's property is halted while the legal system ponders on whether or not it has the right to continue.
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seriously? wtf? and the apple employee who left the phone behind doesn't get fired... wow. apple is seriously fucked up.
Steve Jobs probably pre-raided his house and planted child porn. Apple doesn't play!
After he gave back the phone? WTF?
Of course they were able to raid his house. If he lived in Texas, they would have tripped the automated machine guns and deployment of the rapid wolverines on angel dust. Just sayin.
Ironic considering Gizmodo's apple fanboyism. Steve must be going nuts!
The judge screwed up and should never have issued that warrant... It was likely done on purpose with knowledge they cannot keep anything, but they will still get the info they want. Sneaky and not right. Let us know what happens!
Does this mean every place that reported about the iphone 4G is going to be subjected to a raid?
This is seriously taking things too far...WTF.
this shows the type of company that apple is. a subversive and evil company that will manipulate the facts to further themselves. they probably influenced the judge somehow. heck the guy returned the damn phone.
Can't there be a single country where the government doesn't abuse people? Was there ANY reason to take his computers?
apple.
LOL
KGB gestapo police serving their masters at Apple...........The empire strikes back.
I'm pretty sure this is all legal. Apple is claiming that the phone was stolen and that Gizmodo knowingly bought stolen property. Whether this is true or not will come out later, and possibly lead to charges.
What surprised me here is that Apple would do this at all. There is no upside. They already got the device back, damage has been done, all this will do is piss off a lot of enthusiasts. Bad PR in effect here.
I hope Google wins out in the Smart Devices race. Apple's head is getting too big. This is beyond ridiculous.
I'm smelling a revolution getting closer and closer every day.
I'm pretty sure this is all legal. Apple is claiming that the phone was stolen and that Gizmodo knowingly bought stolen property. Whether this is true or not will come out later, and possibly lead to charges.
To further elaborate:
If I steal at TV from BestBuy and tell you that I have a stolen TV for sale, then you buy it from me, this is illegal and you could get charged for this.
The questions here are 1) was this iPhone stolen or just found (and depending on California law, you may have to report a 'found' device, selling it without reporting may be illegal) and 2) did Gizmodo know that the device was stolen when they bought it.
There are bit and pieces of information that are missing. Would like to see how this plays out.
Holy fk. Totally unexpected. This is big.
Wow! what a waste of taxpayer money. No more fee press huh? I thought Apple sucked before.
Keep in mind that these guys gave the phone back to Apple, not like they refused to do that. This just shows how pathetic Apple is...
Wait, hold on. Let me get this straight. People are calling foul on Apple for protecting their intellectual property?
People need to realize that the matter is not about the physical phone, and the childhood laws of "finders keepers" don't get credit in the real world - especially when dealing with major trade secrets and intellectual property.
It doesn't matter if Apple got the device back as much as it matters that the device (intellectual property) was broadcast all over the net by photo, video, and dissection. These are trade secrets and intellectual property - ideas that have been stolen and that could hurt the company if they have to make changes or cuts to the prototype. That hurt the hype machine before launch. That give competitors a leg up. It could potentially cost Apple millions of dollars.
The real case and issue here will revolve around if reasonable attempts to return the device to Apple were made. And it is quite likely that it will be found that reasonable attempts were NOT made. At that point, it is stolen property... and more than just stolen physical property, stolen intellectual property - trade secrets.
This is a big deal, legally speaking. I doubt those journalistic laws will hold weight in this case, as they were not created to support illegal activity.
He should of patented it. "an iphone with 2 cameras" then who would be stealing =p
First of all Apple hasn't proved the prototype is theirs they have just said it is. I can say that anything found is mine but I have to prove it.
Secondly, all Apple is doing is losing customers with how they handle things.
Apple keeps giving me more reason to not fund them.
Woooooow! Wonder how they'll spin this?
we have just witnessed Apples newest product, introducing the iRaid!
Is this protecting intellectual property? Letting employees carry prototypes to bars/restaurants/wherever is their own choice. The NDA applies to their employees/users with threat of termination, not to the general public.
Obviously, if this were maliciously stolen, that's an issue. Perhaps even if the device were dropped and sold, that might not be 100% legal either. But having police raid and pressing for a felony? That just shows disregard for common sense. This is terrible press, and hurts far more than any little leaks that could come out. It's not like Gizmodo was looking to sell the device to a rival company.
Wait, hold on. Let me get this straight. People are calling foul on Apple for protecting their intellectual property?People need to realize that the matter is not about the physical phone, and the childhood laws of "finders keepers" don't get credit in the real world - especially when dealing with major trade secrets and intellectual property.It doesn't matter if Apple got the device back as much as it matters that the device (intellectual property) was broadcast all over the net by photo, video, and dissection. These are trade secrets and intellectual property - ideas that have been stolen and that could hurt the company if they have to make changes or cuts to the prototype. That hurt the hype machine before launch. That give competitors a leg up. It could potentially cost Apple millions of dollars.The real case and issue here will revolve around if reasonable attempts to return the device to Apple were made. And it is quite likely that it will be found that reasonable attempts were NOT made. At that point, it is stolen property... and more than just stolen physical property, stolen intellectual property - trade secrets.This is a big deal, legally speaking. I doubt those journalistic laws will hold weight in this case, as they were not created to support illegal activity.
who said it was an apple product? the one who found it? gizmodo? apple? who claimed it was apples prototype?
if the dude who found it publicly announced it was an iphone prototype and then sold it, okay then yes gizmodo deserves what's coming to them.
if gizmodo found it, and dissected it and determined it was apple's iphone, and returned it to them, how and why would they be at fault? its like saying someone lost their wallet and another person opened it up to figure out who's it belongs too to return it to them.
if apple claimed it was theirs, o wait, they didn't know it was theirs until it was spread on the internet and given back to them.
What surprised me here is that Apple would do this at all. There is no upside. They already got the device back, damage has been done, all this will do is piss off a lot of enthusiasts. Bad PR in effect here.
The damage has been done this time...next time people might be a little more scared to out a new Apple product.
that's just wrong, they have not right to do that. he gave up ownership of the phone when he left it in the bar, it was not stolen from him!
I guess Apple has the gov't in it's pocket...
Esp. considering they pretty much have a MONOPOLY like practices, ie. Banning the Adobe’s Flash-to-iPhone compiler and not getting in to legal trouble....