Gizmodo said that they paid $5,000 for an iPhone that someone found "lost in a bar." They released the specifics of the device in a post last week, and Chen was convinced that he had found the new iPhone, disguised in a case to make it look like the current 3G model. Apple sued under Section 485 of California law, which says that if someone knowingly receives stolen property, it is as if he stole the material himself and is also guilty of theft.
However, InformtionWeek reports that Gizmodo may seek protection under California shield law, maintaining that the information was gathered for journalistic purposes and cannot be subpoenaed. Chen knew that his computers may be seized (the seizing of the computers would be equivalent to the subpoena of information). In advance, Gaby Darbyshire, the COO of Gawker Media, which owns Gizmodo, explained in a letter on Gawker that online journalists had successfully combated subpoenas before. Chen could have a shot-- in the case of Joshua Wolf, the subpoenaed blogger who served the longest jail sentence of any journalist in U.S. history for not complying, brought the issue of bloggers and the shield law to light, and Chen hopes that this will reflect in his favor.
--Sarah Morrison
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