I received an email from apple about posting a leaked image of the iPhone 6 on my tech blog. I had to edit the blog post to comply or else.. Was a scary moment especially as I've never had an email from Apple. Have any of you received a threat / angry email from a big company?
Not as big as that but I was pretty stoked to see "Mountain View, California" pop up on my caller id one day. As a rule of thumb, if you are going to publish info that might be considered a "leak", even if you are just republishing, you need to be prepared for the fallout. Take the temporary fame, pull the content and move on. If it really matters to you be prepared to fight but be sure it's worth it. In your case, it seems you were happy to have the temporary fame, wise decision. I've got a folder of letters from disgruntled lawyers. I made a judgement call about the other party's ability to front up with the funds for a libel suit. In all but one case I decided to stick to my guns. I was most amused when one of the scarier lawyers was later quoted in the media as saying he'd been ripped off by the guy. He must have been sucked in by the holier-than-thou act.
@sarahk has a great description of a reasonable and experienced businessperson's approach to dealing with this type of situation. And there are at least two other parts to the equation (besides funding) that large corporations use when deciding to defend against leaks, in my experience. One is timing. Can they get to court in the proper jurisdiction and get an injunction (which the defendant can both delay and/or fight) fast to make the effort matter (i.e., before the product is announced, anyway?) Being in a different country from the corporation's headquarters/legal team can be a distinct advantage in this regard, of course. The other issue is unintended consequences. Will they actually be increasing your website's visibility in the marketplace with the potential publicity stemming from their involvement and obvious concern about you. In fact, you would likely be the one talking to the press about the situation because it would be a very effective promotional tool ("Hey, I am really shaking up Apple with my news scoops! Let me tell you about it, mister reporter.") That said, I always tend to take into consideration the fact that a corporation like that could squash my company if it got annoyed enough. While the risk may actually be quite small, the consequences could be dire.
This. Large corporations would like you to believe that X, Y, Z, but in truth just because they say something, doesn't mean they have the authority or the right.
Wow! Do be careful as others may just sue first. Is it required to warn someone to takedown or can one just go ahead and sue first and ask questions later?
That's exactly the method most major online magazines / newspapers do. They pull the content, apologize and then blame someone else for giving them the unreliable peace of information.
By the way Apple can't do anything about those guys over in Russia. They can only go after folks either in the US or Europe for infringement violations. There are just a handful of countries where the international laws of commerce and what not do not take precedence over those countries' laws. Russia is one of them.
Thanks quikad and other posters I made a follow up post on my blog about the whole incidence here: http://www.geeksays.com/aftermath-o...hy-the-iphone-6-will-be-released-in-2015/4372
I wouldn't be so quick to throw hostgator into the mix. It has nothing to do with the story but it can be construed like it does. Sites do get taken down for a CPU abuse. It's in the terms of use.