California Appellate Court Sides with Internet Publishers and Directs that Subpoenas Issued by Apple Computer, Inc. be Quashed
O’Grady v. Superior Court, 2006 WL 1452685 (Cal. Ct. App. May 26, 2006)
Apple Computer, Inc. (Apple) brought this action alleging that persons unknown caused the wrongful publication on the World Wide Web of Apple’s secret plans to release a device that would facilitate the creation of digital live sound recordings on Apple computers. In an effort to identify the source of the disclosures, Apple sought and obtained authority to issue civil subpoenas to the publishers of the Web sites where the information appeared and to the email service provider for one of the publishers. The publishers moved for a protective order to prevent any such discovery. The trial court denied the motion on the ground that the publishers had involved themselves in the unlawful misappropriation of a trade secret. Read More