Intel backs Apple in trade secrets spat

Intel, Genentech and the Business Software Alliance have filed court briefs in support of Apple's controversial legal action to determine who leaked its trade secrets to two Mac enthusiast websites.

Apple wants to subpoena email records from the hosting provider for two websites, PowerPage and AppleInsider, in an effort to identify the source of leaked confidential information concerning an upcoming Apple product called Asteroid.

The case hinges on the difference between the freedom of the press and Apple's right to protect trade secrets. In a tentative ruling a Santa Clara judge sided with Apple.

Rather than suing the websites, Apple has filed a claim against the hosting provider to hand over email records that it believes can prove the identity of the leak.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, acting on behalf of the defendants, asked an appeals court to overrule the decision based on the US constitutional rights that guarantee the freedom of the press.

Last month several newspapers and the Associated Press agency threw their support behind the sites and their providers.

Intel, biotech company Genentech and the Business Software Alliance contended in their briefs that they need strong protection of their trade secrets in order to innovate.

They argue that this right to innovate takes precedence over a reporter's freedom of speech if he or she knows that the story is based on stolen information.