Next iPhone or prototype? image: nzherald.co.nz
Apropos this …
Lost iPhone prototype spurs police probe
Silicon Valley police are investigating what appears to be a lost Apple iPhone prototype purchased by a gadget blog, a transaction that may have violated criminal laws, a law enforcement official told CNET on Friday.
Apple has spoken to local police about the incident and the investigation is believed to be headed by a computer crime task force led by the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office, the source said. …
via CNET Thanks to John Gruber.
Nice bit of (inconclusive) analysis today from TUAW: “Determining civil and criminal liability for the lost iPhone”
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/04/23/determining-civil-and-criminal-liability-for-the-lost-iphone/#continued
What ‘sticks’ will come down, I think, to how determined (or otherwise) Apple itself is to take offence/hurt Gizmodo/Gawker.
But re this:
FWIW – paying USD$5,000 for something claimed to be a iPhone prototype indicates to me that they believed the claim. Ergo: they ‘knew’ what they were buying belonged to someone other than the seller. In my opinion.