It IS a crime to sell something as represented as being something it’s not. Try selling a reproduction as an antique and see what happens.
Once again, if Apple looks at something and says “it’s not ours” then the individual did his due diligence before he sold it.
Once again, if Apple looks at something and says “it’s not ours” then the individual did his due diligence before he sold it.
That's not what the law in California says. If the lost property doesn't belong to an outfit (a company) or a person you called and they say, "Get lost! It's not ours and don't call us back again!" -- that doesn't translate into -- "Now the lost device is mine to sell!" ... LOL ...
If anything, when the "finder" discovers that the place he called is not the owner, that simply means he hasn't found the owner yet.
And according to the law, if you sell that lost property, you've committed a crime. He sold the lost property and that's the crime that was committed (not to say anything about the guy either buying property that has been stolen, since the law has defined that situation as "theft" [see the language of the law for that]).
So, they're both (seller and buyer) in a bunch of hot water right now... :-)
The interesting angle is that if Apple claimed it wasn’t theirs but the buyer was able to verify the seller’s claim that it was Apple’s prototype, then which law was broken.
Did he steal abandoned property or sell a fraud that wasn’t a fraud?
I love irony.
Apple did not look at it. As far as anyone knows, Gizmodo says that the finder called Apple tech support and said he found a funny looking iPhone. He was told he probably had a Chinese knock off by a tech support guy who knew nothing about a missing prototype. He said OK... and hung up. If it happened as described, I don't believe that qualifies as a proper "due diligence" attempt. Despite that, if he failed to locate the owner on his own, he is required to then turn the found object over to the authorities, fill out a found property report, and allow them to attempt to return it to its owner. If after a period of 90 days, it goes unclaimed by the owner, the finder can claim the object.
I have a prototype of the Apple mouse. It says on it Apple Computer, Inc. 1 infinite Loop, Palo Alto, CA, Prototype. a model number, and Not for Sale. I purchased it from Apple itself. Apple DOES mark their prototypes as what they are.