Apple Sues A Canadian
In December, Apple Computer filed suit against three developers it says posted a prerelease version of Mac OS X onto the Internet. The lawsuit alleges that the three men posted a developer release of Mac OS X Tiger onto sites used by BitTorrent. Apple is seeking an injunction to prevent further releases of its software as well as unspecified monetary damages.
One of the developers is a young Canadian named Sunny. The story is only just now breaking in the Canadian media. This interview makes a fascinating read about the actions of a young, and somewhat naive, Mac enthusiast. Rory Prior, creator of NewsMac for OS X had this to say about the lawsuit:
“As a software developer I understand Apple”™s desire to protect its intellectual property. Nevertheless I feel that Apple in a way encourages its customers to want to misappropriate their software because of the hype and fervour it whips up, often many months prior to the release of these products.
This can cloud the judgement of the company”™s ardent fans who feel they are doing no real harm by getting just a little bit more of a sneak peak than what they were shown already at public events like Macworld Expo and the WWDC. Of course that doesn”™t condone the actions of these individuals, what they did was clearly wrong and violated Apple’s NDAs. The punishment they face ”“ essentially the ruining of their lives both financially and professionally, does seem too much however.
There was no malicious intent involved from what I can see having read their interviews and I”™m sure the fear and pain they have already experienced at the prospect of being sued by a huge corporation is punishment enough. It is my hope that Apple will drop these lawsuits before the damage to these individual”™s lives becomes irreparable.”
did it break somewhere in the canadian media i’m not aware of?
~drunkenbatman
Yes… National Post had a piece on this item yesterday. They referenced DrunkenBlog and they included a picture of Steve Wozniak.
Excerpt:
Apple guru backs ‘naive’ student
Wozniak offers $1,000 to help Ontario man fight OS X lawsuit
Melissa Leong
National Post
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Here is the fragment referencing DrunkenBlog:
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In an online posting to the blog site DrunkenBlog.com, Mr. Wozniak wrote that he hopes Apple will drop the matter. “In this age of professional spammers and telemarketers making fortunes, we’re misusing our energies to pursue these types of small-time wrongdoers.”
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Congratulations… you made Canada’s national newspaper!