Nicholas M. Ciarelli aka Nick DePlume can breathe a little easier. When you take on superjumbo Apple Corporation with a pitiful but popular website, every help is welcome. And help has come Ciarelli's way.

The story starts eight years back when little Nick got an Apple Macintosh from his father. Nick got addicted to the beauty of the Mac, like many other Apple fans worldwide. But unlike others, Nick did not stop with that. He set up a website on Apple products, which disseminates information about the workings of the company and their plans and products. He set up the company named DePlume Organization LLC, which runs the blog thinksecret.com.

Over the years, Thinksecret.com grew in popularity, becoming a one-stop news shop for upcoming Apple products. If you wanted to confirm a rumour swirling about a new Mac coming up, check with Thinksecret - It became that credible.

Through all his school years, when he was Thinksecret Editor and DePlume LLC's CEO, Nick kept away from the limelight, always known by his alias Nick DePlume. There are very few of his photographs available. Thinksecret encouraged readers and Apple insiders to share info on Apple Country with the site.

Meanwhile, right under Apple CEO Steve Jobs' nose, information on new products and strategic plans, even internal emails, were regularly leaking to Thinksecret. By this time, Nick had joined Harvard University. Thinksecret correctly predicted the arrival of the iPod, Apple's runaway success. Also, the inexpensive headless iMac, ipod Mini and the iPod Photo were announced by Thinksecret before Apple put out the news. Apple was irked.

Thinksecret looked at Apple like a boy looked at a flashy, brainy, smart elder - a role model. But Apple saw Thinksecret scoops as an attack on its strategic plans. Over the last one year, Apple served at east 4 cease-and-desist notices to Thinksecret to shut shop. Nick Ciarelli couldn't care less. We didn't expect anything different from a 19-year old.

Apple's success and popularity, like the Linux, has been powered by Mac communities of fierce fanatics. Nick counted himself and his readers as Mac fans eager for news on Apple, not mischief-makers.

So Thinksecret never expected Apple to act on its words. Nick thought the free publicity he gave Apple about its upcoming products would keep Apple in good humour. The frst part of his assumption was true. Apple fans regularly checked out Thinksecret, since Apple itself has always been a secretive organisation, never revealing its plans and products. Confident that the Goliath would leave David alone, Nick continued with enthusiastic work on Thinksecret.

Things changed in early January. In a petition filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, Apple alleged that ThinkSecret had not obtained its information legally.

Apple claimed that Ciarelli and his company, The dePlume Organization, broke the law when soliciting insider tips online from anonymous sources, “inducing” Apple employees to break their confidentiality agreements with the company.

The suit does not identify Ciarelli by name, saying dePlume’s “true name and identity” could not be confirmed. But a Nov. 11 letter Apple sent to Think Secret ordering the site to stop publishing trade secrets included Ciarelli’s name as publisher and editor-in-chief of Think Secret.

Nick, like any 19-year old, was completely dazed. For a week, he said he had no money fight a case against Apple. But he stood by his stance that he was not doing anything illegal. The game was almost up for Thinksecret, scaring Mac fans and other Mac rumour websites alike.

Help came a week later. On Thursday January 19, Terry Gross of Gross & Belsky LLP, a leading lawyer in Internet law since early Web days, agreed to defend Thinksecret from the lawsuit. It was not immediately known if Nick had hired the lawyer, or if he had offered his services voluntarily.

"Apple's attempt to silence a small publication's news reporting presents a troubling affront to the protections of the First Amendment," said Nick. "I'm grateful that Mr. Gross has stepped forward to help defend these crucial freedoms."

Gross has been at the center of Internet law since the early days of the net, and served as the first counsel to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a leading advocacy and legal organization that works to defend civil liberties in the technology and electronic communications realm. In one successful case prior to popular use of the Internet, Gross, as special counsel, defended the constitutional rights of publishers to disseminate information they legally obtain, electronically or in print.

"Think Secret's reporting is protected by the First Amendment," Gross said. "The Supreme Court has said that a journalist cannot be held liable for publishing information that the journalist obtained lawfully. Think Secret has not used any improper newsgathering techniques. We will be filing a motion asking the Court to dismiss this case immediately on First Amendment grounds under a California statute which weeds out meritless claims that threaten First Amendment rights." The EFF, as well as several other civil liberties organizations, was instrumental in helping Think Secret find legal representation.

Meanwhile, Ciarelli says that he has done nothing wrong. “I employ the same legal news-gathering practices used by any other journalist,” he wrote. “I talk to sources of information, investigate tips, follow up on leads, and corroborate details. I believe these practices are reflected in Think Secret’s track record.”

Meanwhile, Apple seems to have disapointed its own fans. Mac fan blogs have decried the suit on Thinksecret.com and have stood by Nick.

After the issue came out in the open, Apple refused to go public with comments - possibly to avoid annoying its fan base further. Reports say that Apple is not actually bothered about Thinksecret or Nick; but it wants to know who is leaking info from within Apple and breaking confidentiality agreements. But the impact has been the same.

Nick's Harvard professors (that reminds me of my own professors back in college) say that the boy must have broken the law in running Thinksecret and leaking Apple's trade secrets. But Internet lawyers say Nick is protected by the First Amendment to the American Consstitution, which poffers protection to journalists and their news sources.

Its also possible that after threatening Thinksecret with oblivion, Apple may quietly drop the lawsuit. Apple does not really want to enrage its fan base by appearing Microsoft-like. But again, it cant let company secrets like either. The half-hearted scuffle goes on.

BY JM