To prevent another DMCA takedown notice from Apple Inc., I’ll try not to let any “trade secrets” slip out during the course of this posting. This text has been vetted by the Lizard Legal Team and is suitable for dissemination to one and all.

First a brief primer. The DMCA, or Digital Millennium Copyright Act, is a law intended to protect copyright holders from copyright infringers, in theory. The umbrella is quite large, and makes illegal, amongst other things, the reverse engineering of DRM or any methods used to circumvent copy protection tied to digital products. The principles of protecting copyrights is noble, as there needs to be a way to prevent others from improperly using someone else’s creation or content. Sadly, the DMCA is being abused by companies to limit and restrict the free-flow of information and technologies.

For a more in-depth look at the DMCA, head on over to Wikipedia. Now, let’s get to the part where this concerns scriptedLizard.com.

Beware The Ides Of April

In April of 2010, MacRumors.com posted an article about Apple Inc.’s new serial number format. The article didn’t get much interest, and it didn’t help that it was ten paragraphs in length. Yes, ten, all to talk about a serial number. Within hours MacRumors received a letter from Apple and the article was taken down. We were left with the single line, “Information Removed at Request of Apple Legal”. Then people started talking about it.

Being one of the forum readers who thought this was an over-reaching use of DMCA, I decided to find the article, which I found cached on some remote server, and make it available on this website. The article happily lived here until May 14, 2010, when my web host abruptly terminated my account without warning, and all my websites within it. However, I didn’t know why my account was terminated at the time, because HostMonster didn’t give me a chance to speak to the violation, they just sent me an email that my account was terminated. If you use HostMonster, beware, as this could happen to you too. This could have a chilling affect on free speech.

A Change Is Gonna Come

So, I moved my sites to a new host– all six of them. I spent the entire weekend moving sites, updating settings, creating databases, etc. In short, it was a real bitch. So after all my sites were up, and to my surprise, I received another email from my new web host, stating my account was suspended due to a copyright violation. However, they had the courtesy to include the original correspondence from the entity who contacted them. Now I could finally see who has been stalking my site for a week.

And the winner is… Apple Inc. I was really surprised to find out it was Apple. Apparently, they used the DMCA to claim I was offering “trade secrets” on my site, by posting information which discussed the methods of how to read their new serial number format. In the email they claim “this information is confidential and is provided to third parties only subject to a non-disclosure agreement. Dissemination of confidential information knowingly obtained or derived from someone in breach of non-disclosure obligations constitutes trade secret misappropriation.”

This may be true, but I never signed a NDA, and I did not know this was confidential information. Why would I even assume this would be confidential? I’m used to companies wanting you to know how they serialize their products, such as Gibson USA. I used that info to find out when my guitar was produced, at what plant, what day, etc.

So come to find out, it’s been Apple who made my life miserable over the weekend. It’s a good thing I have a sense of humor. Actually, it doesn’t really bother me too much, only to the extent that free speech has been quashed in this instance. I could simply create a hosting account off-shore, where the long arms of the DMCA won’t reach, and upload this information. But I don’t think it’s worth it. Anyone who can compile several lines of code could probably look at ten computers with the new serial number format, and write an algorithm that would determine where each was made, which week, etc. Let them worry about it.

For your amusement, I am posting the original email sent from Apple’s lawyers to my web host, as well as my response to the lawyer. Happy reading.

To Whom It May Concern:

We represent Apple Inc. (“Apple”). It has come to our attention that a website you host, scriptedlizard.com, has posted Apple confidential trade secret information concerning Apple’s serial number format at http://www.scriptedlizard.com/thevault/apple-tweaks-serial-number-format-with-new-macbook-pro.

This information is confidential and is provided to third parties only subject to a non-disclosure agreement. Dissemination of confidential information knowingly obtained or derived from someone in breach of non-disclosure obligations constitutes trade secret misappropriation. See, e.g., Cal. Civ. Code 3426.1(b)(2)(B)(iii). This information can be used in falsifying warranty claims and therefore its confidentiality is of paramount importance to Apple.

Apple therefore requests that you take steps to immediately remove this post.

The foregoing is not intended to be a complete statement of the facts, and shall not constitute a waiver of any of Apple’s rights or remedies, all of which are expressly reserved.

Please notify me by reply e-mail when you have complied with this demand, and feel free to contact me if you any questions or concerns.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation,

// Contact information for law firm removed //

DMCA Certification: Pursuant to Section 512(c) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, I hereby state, under penalty of perjury, that I have a good faith belief that the activities described above are not authorized by Apple, that the information in this notification is accurate, and that I am authorized to act on behalf of Apple in this regard.

This message and any attached documents contain information from the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP that may be confidential and/or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you may not read, copy, distribute, or use this information. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this message.

And now my response…

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a bullshit claim. However, I don’t have the desire to get into a fight with mighty Apple Inc. I love those guys, but their tactics as of late, especially towards competition, or what they deem competition, are pretty sleazy. Besides, removing this post may help my chances of getting into the WWDC next month:)

The post in question has been removed from the website in question. Any questions? I would request Apple send a DMCA notice to my head, as it is currently in violation of “trade secrets” and is readily disseminating them via the mouth to every Apple customer I run into. Psst.. Apple stamps a serial number onto every piece of hardware. They use letters and numbers. They like numbers. Pass it on.

By removing this post, I’m not accepting or claiming responsibility for originally posting it. I just happen to have access to the admin area. If I ever find the culprit who posted this… he gonna get it!

PS- Any inside info on that lost/recovered iPhone 4G? Steve is boss.

Have a better day than Thai protesters,

Bryan