What you seem to have missed is that the phone was most likely planted, not lost, for publicity benefit.
Apple had a chance to reclaim the phone when the finder tried to return it, but they wouldn’t have it. They wanted the phone out there.
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Apple had a chance to reclaim the phone when the finder tried to return it, but they wouldn’t have it.
That may be the one thing that "saves" this particular guy (the one who found it and then sold it) from any criminal charges. But, it won't save the guy who bought it.
The problem there, with the guy who tried to return it -- is that he apparently got a hold of someone who didn't know what they were talking about ... LOL ... (which is good news for the guy who found it).
HOWEVER, Apple did tell the reporter that they wanted it back. And before the original guy who found it could do anything with the iPhone prototype, Apple had wiped it clean so there was nothing on it, so obviously Apple didn't want it to get out, or else they would have left that on there.
And so, when Apple became aware of the reporter having it (and that got to the people "in the know" as you can imagine ... LOL ...) -- Apple wanted it back, for sure. :-) ...
I'm not buying it.
I think you would feel differently if it was your property that was being auctioned off, but that's irrelevant. Seems like a pretty clear violation of the PC sections cited above. I'm sure all parties will get their day in court to sort it all out, though.
A decent theory at the start of this saga, but not now when SWAT teams are breaking down doors and confiscating property to figure out what happened. Regardless of who started that conversation, I'm sure it ended with Apple saying "yes, we believe a crime was committed." Apple would not be biding their time before stopping a criminal investigation with "sorry, it really was planted."