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Once again, if Apple looks at something and says “it’s not ours” then the individual did his due diligence before he sold it.

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.