ThinkSecret gets legal aid to counter Apple’s threat

Apple was highly criticized by the media when they sued a small tech website (ThinkSecret.com) claiming that they broke law by releasing trade secrets. The website released information regarding the then upcoming Apple products, which are now publicly available in the form of Mac Mini, iPod Shuffle and iWork ‘05 suite.

The young admin of the website Nick dePlume aka Nicholas M. Ciarelli reported earlier that he was unable to afford legal council for his fight against the Macintosh maker. Fortunately the latest news now in is that they have the services of Terry Gross, a specialist in Internet law and formerly the first counsel to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The legal council for ThinkSecret.com plans to petition the court to dismiss the case on the basis of no merit and that it threatens the first amendment. The site claims that the information they published was gathered through legitimate sources and they broke no laws in that. Supreme Court of United States has already ruled that journalists who obtain the information legitimately cannot be held liable for it.

Nick dePlume said this about the new development: “Apple’s attempt to silence a small publication’s news reporting presents a troubling affront to the protections of the First Amendment. I’m grateful that Mr. Gross has stepped forward to help defend these crucial freedoms.”