Apple is the defendant in a number of lawsuits, the latest from Nokia. However, a bizarre lawsuit has appeared, naming the Cupertino, Calif. company and ‘Sex in the City’ actress Sara Jessica Parker in a lawsuit claiming the two attempted to steal trade secrets involving the iPhone, iPod and iTunes.
The lawsuit brought by Miami, Fla. resident Franz A. Wakefield claims after a 1989 meeting with Parker, the self-described “trade secret and copyright owner” “made a trade secret deal” with Parker to commercialize the iPod classic, nano, mini, shuffle, video, touch and photo, along with iTunes and the iPhone. As part of the deal, Parker supposedly would get 2 percent of gross revenue. Wakefield, who claims he named all of the products 20 years before their release by Apple, asked the FBI to watch over his security, according to the lawsuit.
Here’s where Apple comes into the picture: Wakefield claims Parker was supposed to meet with Apple CEO Steve Jobs and hammer out a deal, including the concept of $0.99 songs for iTunes. In 2006, Parker’s attorney told the Florida man the actress didn’t remember such conversations about the iPod, according to the lawsuit.
In October, Wakefield wrote to Jobs demanding payment. “Otherwise I will seek legal recourse for the immediate cease and desist from the manufacture, marketing, and sale of all the iPod, iTunes, and iPhone lines; along with pursuing damages from the products sold to date, unjust enrichment caused by the theft, enforcement of the agreed 2% gross revenues on all sales, and any other applicable damages or compensation,” according to the letter filed with the lawsuit in a U.S. District Court in the Central District of California.
In 2007, Wakefield complained to the FBI and mentioned he’d filed complaints against Nintendo and Cordis Corp. with the dating back to 1993.
[Via AppleInsider]
