Apple Formally Asks For iPhone Back, Gizmodo Returns It

Leander Kahney ()

Apple Formally Asks For iPhone Back, Gizmodo Returns It

Apple sent Gizmodo a formal letter asking for its iPhone back (proving it was genuine) — and Gizmodo is returning it, along with a nice note asking Apple to go easy on the kid who lost it.

Gizmodo editorial director Brian Lam says Apple called him today asking for its iPhone back. He said he’d be happy to oblige, if he received a formal written request from Apple’s legal department.

He duly received the following:

It has come to our attention that Gizmodo is in possession of a device that belongs to Apple. This letter constitutes a formal request that you return the device to Apple. Please let me know where to pick up the unit.

Sincerely,
Bruce Sewell,
Senior Vice President & General Counsel
Apple Inc.

Lam wrote back putting him in contact with his colleague Jason Chen, who actually has the phone.

Happy to have you pick this thing up. Was burning a hole in our pockets. Just so you know, we didn’t know this was stolen when we bought it. Now that we definitely know it’s not some knockoff, and it really is Apple’s, I’m happy to see it returned to its rightful owner.

DON'T MISS

P.S. I hope you take it easy on the kid who lost it. I don’t think he loves anything more than Apple except, well, beer.

As well as mentioning that Gizmodo didn’t know the iPhone was stolen when they bought it, Lam also says the guy who sold them the iPhone had earlier tried to return Apple it to Apple. Apparently, he called customer service but go the runaround.

24 comments »

About the author

Leander Kahney

is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

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Posted in Apple, iPhone, News |

  • dusteallen

    I have a feeling this won’t be the last thing Gizmodo here’s from Apple. If I heard right, according to California law, lost items are considered stolen if not returned. I can’t imagine taking a part of piece of Apple’s property will go over too well. Will be interesting to see if anything else comes out of this.

  • Mr Y

    CA law requires the finder to try and return the object. The guy tried to return the object. Apple ignored the guy. So, not sure if the law is so black and white here. I guess that Apple will go for Gizmodo, just to help Steve steam a bit.

  • josuegoxelfuego

    Hope Apple goes easy on that Seth Rogen looking kid who lost their iPhone. =)

  • charli

    I wonder how hard it is to find out the name of a company lawyer and fake an email

    Just saying

  • http://www.grinningidiot.com JAYnLA

    FREE GREY POWELL!!!!! (Is somebody working on the shirt?)

  • http://www.venera7.com Javier

    Man, it’s Jason Chen, not Brian Chen.

    I’m sad for the guy who lost it though.

  • namhar

    Bad Bad apple, i guess this is the first time someone sees an apple product before being officially announced. y did they allow him to take the phone with him in the first place? they should have kept their product secretly in their labs.

  • Chris

    This letter certainly doesn’t *prove* that the phone we’ve seen pictures of is the one that’s being released later in the year. Just look at leaked pictures of upcoming cars on test tracks – they never have the form factor of the later-released models.

    This could easily have been a test enclosure to see how various components work ‘in the field’. Although I’m amazed that it would be possible to let the device be taken out of their offices…

  • Simon

    The only way to really test a product is to get a few out in the environment they will be used in. Just having Apple ppl running around infinate loop is no where near good enough testing for a product that will be used world wide, by millions. And Apple would get cained if a product as big as this didn’t work pretty much perfectly anywhere in the world on launch.

    I’m supprised this is the first time this has happend, I think Apple do an annoyingly awsome job of keeping a lid on these things.

  • marvin

    well, way to go mr. lam, such a benign and considerate fella… :)

  • porkchop1234

    Gizmoda recently complained that they were left out of the loop when they didn’t get a chance tp preview the new iPad and after this I doubt they will EVER even get a chance to even talk to the lowly janitor who works for Apple. Gizmodo is now officially on Apple’s SHIT LIST for life.

  • Howie Isaacks

    Gizmodo should have returned it without Apple having to ask! If someone loses something in a bar, it’s now acceptable to parade that object all over the internet, take it apart, and violate trade secrets? The guys at Gizmodo should be arrested.

  • Proto732

    “take it easy on the kid” since we didn’t have anything more to show with the phone and decided to drag him into it by name, defame, and potentially ruin his career and any chance for employment with another tech company for the next 5 years.

    Giz could have said everything they wanted with naming the guy.

  • Proto732

    with = without.

    :)

  • tomar

    If this is a real iphone, why haven’t we seen pictures with it powered on?

  • http://billy-adams.com billyadams

    @Howie: Just because they broadcast the contents of the phone and the pictures of the phone does not mean they violated trade secrets. The guys at Giz were not under NDA and so no violation occurred on their part.

  • TRRosen

    Yeah….

    “The guy told us the phone was stolen but we didn’t believe him. After all he is a thief”

  • dusteallen

    @Mr Y,

    Gizmodo paid $5,000 for a piece of equipment that they knew did not belong to the person they bought it from. 1. they should not have paid for “stolen” property and 2. they should have returned the device without questions asked. A respectable organization would have done such a thing.

  • TRRosen

    @Mr Y CA law also requires that anything valued over $100 be turn in to the police and a 90 day waiting period.

  • BoxMac

    “…we didn’t know this was stolen when we bought it ….”
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!111!!1!!

    Yes, that’s right — we paid $10K even though everyone *knows* Apple is handing them out for free previews.

    And as far as “taking it easy” on the guy who lost it, he didn’t *just* lose it.
    Even if he *did*, he’d be fired for carelessness.
    No ….
    What he *did* was get wasted in a bar, lose it, then *tweets* how wasted he was, lost a work-in-progress made by a pathologically secretive company, and could someone *please* return it so’s he doesn’t get in dutch with Steve Jobs aka “Mr. Nice Guy”.

    And I’m sure being a raging alcoholic will work in his favor when in front of Steve — who is probably so disgusted & absolutely *humiliated* right now, he doesn’t even wanna lay eyes on this dope.

    The only one more fucked than Grey Powell is Brian Lam.

  • nsfw

    You think when the phone arrives in cupertino, steve jobs personally delivers it to Gray and says, “Lose Something?” And then smashes it against his desk. Tells Gray to dawn a smock and report to the nearest Apple Store to work in the warehouse.

  • Scott

    Oh, come *on*, people! Gizmodo gets its hands on what appears to be a misplaced next-gen iPhone, and Apple responds with a mild “hey, that’s ours, can we please have it back?” No cease-and-desist order? No veiled threats regarding receipt of stolen property? And on the same day that the HTC Incredible reviews are hitting the Web? No way. This is a stage-managed leak, without a doubt. And Gizmodo’s not even very good at hiding it – or else Brian Lam has absolutely *no* sense of the proper way to respond to a formal letter from a multi-billion-dollar corporation, and should not be allowed out of the Gizmodo offices without adult supervision.

  • Mezzrow

    The way Giz handled this whole thing that smells to high heaven. And I really think it was bad form to publish the poor sap’s name…and photo, for christ’s sake. If he still had a job yesterday, I’d wouldn’t be surprised if he’s without one today.

  • James

    “Take it easy on the kid”?! You are the ones that posted his name, picture, and info on the internet! I’m really disappointed at Gizmodo for doing such a disgusting thing. Rest assured, Apple will never trust you guys with anything again.