Okay Geek Farm
Gizmodo walks away unscathed after iPhone 4 prototype case is finally settled
Ricardo Trejo
With all the commotion that the iPhone 5 is brewing it’s easy to forget the prolific events that unfolded last year via Gizmodo and its hand in officially blowing-the-lid off the iPhone 4. If you don’t remember or weren’t aware of what transpired we’ll throw you into a crash course beyond the break, but we’re going to spoil the ending for you now: Gizmodo and its employees, nor its parent company Gawker, got into trouble.
If you don’t remember, Gary Powell, a former Apple Software Engineer had been enjoying a beer at a local tavern when he accidentally left an iPhone 4 prototype, disguised as an iPhone 3GS, unattended. It was then that a passerby, otherwise known as Brian Hogan found it (stole it), and later along with a buddy, Sage Wallower, sold it to Gawker for thousands of dollars.
Jason Chen, resident Gizmodo writer and handler of all things stolen in this case, tore the entire thing apart — revealing the guts within for all Apple fanboys to clamor over. The design choice, body, and innards were indeed a hit with the entire industry and its readers regardless of the methods in which the handset as discovered, though Apple couldn’t have been more distraught. And so in their dismay and anger threw out a heavy lawsuit and allowed local law enforcement to barge into Chen’s residence (legally) and take nearly all of his tech (computers, hard drives, photos and such) as evidence in the case.
Fast forward a year and here we have a standing verdict on what will happen to Chen, Gizmodo, and Gawker…
Nothing.
Yep, nothing.
The courts found that those involved in the purchsing of the stolen goods were not in violation of California’s law that criminalizes persons on either side of a deal where the product is stolen.
According to the official court documents:
“The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office has filed misdemeanor charges against two individuals for the misappropriation of an iPhone 4 prototype that was lost by an Apple employee and subsequently recovered in a Redwood City establishment by the defendants on March 25, 2010. Brian Hogan, 22, of Redwood City was charged with one count of misappropriation of lost property, and Sage Wallower, 28, of Emeryville, was charged with misappropriation of lost property, and possession of stolen property. Their arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 9:00 in Redwood City. After a consideration of all of the evidence, it was determined that no charges would be filed against employees of Gizmodo.”
So there ya have it. While one of the biggest voices in the tech blogosphere gets a slap on the wrist, it’s hard to imagine that their credibility and otherwise spotless journalistic record wouldn’t be scarred due to their questionable actions. Though it’s hard to say that any other blog would’ve reacted any differently unless they were in the same shoes.
