:: Deepquest ::

In a ruling that might affect more people than just the defendants, a California judge on Friday ruled against the three independent online reporters who leaked information about the upcoming Apple products on their website. This might lead to Apple forcing the three news sources to divulge confidential sources, which gave them the leaked information.

The court ruled that there is no legal protection for those reporters who publishes a company?s trade secrets. In addition, Apple had also sued 25 of their employees who they suspected of leaking information to these online news resources claiming that the probable leaks violated nondisclosure agreements and California?s Uniform Trade Secrets Act. They also demanded that the news sources in question should reveal their sources.

In return, the online magazines sought a protective order against the subpoenas claiming that if they revealed their sources under pressure from the tech giant, it would erode the media?s ability to report in the public?s interest. However, the judge claimed that the so-called reporters who published ?stolen property? were not entitled to protection by law, which applied to routine journalists to hide their sources of information.

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