Apple Kills Think Secret

ThinkSecret.com, an Apple rumor Web site, has settled the lawsuit Apple had brought against it—and will not publish anymore.

Here is the press release from the home page of ThinkSecret.com:

Apple and Think Secret have settled their lawsuit, reaching an agreement that results in a positive solution for both sides. As part of the confidential settlement, no sources were revealed and Think Secret will no longer be published. Nick Ciarelli, Think Secret’s publisher, said “I’m pleased to have reached this amicable settlement, and will now be able to move forward with my college studies and broader journalistic pursuits.”

ThinkSecret.com, which published Mac and Apple rumors and news, has been around since 1999 and was a good source of Mac rumors, although the consensus was it hadn’t been as accurate in the past year or two and published some unsubstantiated rumors. But in 2005 Apple brought forth a lawsuit against Think Secret, saying it was causing Apple insiders to violate their confidentiality agreements and the website was hurting its business:

We believe that Think Secret solicited information about unreleased Apple products from [those who stole Apple’s trade secrets], who violated their confidentiality agreements with Apple by providing details that were later posted on the Internet….Unauthorized disclosures diminish the interest of both the mainstream and trade media in the launch of a new product.

The lawsuit has now been settled amicably, with the only public result being the shutdown of ThinkSecret.com (it is still online now). Publisher Nick Ciarelli has not provided any details beyond what’s in the press release, but did say he’s “very satisfied with the settlement.”

20 December 2007

Jeremy Schultz

Designorati

none

We reserve the right to edit or delete comments for any reason.