And here we run right off the cliff, with the tendentious message board argument that Gizmodo had any reasonable expectation that the phone might not have been Apple's after Steve Jobs called them to get the phone back. Due respect, but give me a break, Brian.
You don't think there is even a slight possibility that the phone belonged to somebody else, like, say, the person who actually lost it? Do you really think it was unreasonable for Gizmodo to ask Apple to simply state--not prove, merely state--that it belonged to them and that the person who left it in the bar didn't "lose" it on purpose? I think it is more than reasonable to ask. Especially, it's silly to speculate when when Apple was willing to confirm it.
If this was some random person, or even some random company, laying claim to the device, you may have a leg to stand on. It's Apple. Do you really think they'd go out and ask journalists for some iPhone knockoff prototype? Come on.
Ah yes, the venerable "come on It's Apple" defense.
If this ever goes to trial the lawyers will demand a change of venue out of the bay area, they'll never get a fair shake with the serious infestation of Apple fanboys around here.
Bear in mind, I'm not using the "come on It's Apple" defense in terms of all of their actions; I don't know enough about this case to say anything either way, and really don't care enough in general. But I think it's a pretty fair assumption that if they're calling someone and saying "uh, hey, you have our phone", it really is their phone.
