It seems like the whole thing happened ages ago, but there has been a new development in the case of the lost iPhone 4 prototype.

The San Mateo County District Attorney has moved to withdraw its warrant, meaning that all equipment taken from Gizmodo and editor Jason Chen be returned. The systems were seized after Gizmodo ran a series of articles on an iPhone 4 prototype it purchased from a man who found the device in a Silicon Valley bar.

While the move will mean that the seized equipment will be returned, it may not mean that Chen and Gizmodo are out of the woods just yet. According to the legal experts at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the information can be brought back into court at any time. Attorney Matt Zimmerman said that by issuing a subpoena, information gathered from the search could be reintroduced.

More from the EFF and a link to the court documents here.

20 Jul 2010