Mac clone maker's lawyer denies spilling Apple secrets

Computerworld - Mac clone maker Psystar's lead lawyer said he did not reveal details of the company's case to a prominent Harvard Law School professor, according to court documents.

However, K.A.D. Camera, of the Houston, Texas law firm Camera & Shipley LLP and Psystar's chief counsel, did acknowledge that he approved a "circus day" at Psystar's headquarters last month as part of a public relations strategy to spin the case its way in the media.

In a response filed with a California federal court Sept. 2, Camera answered allegations that he disclosed case secrets to Charles Nesson, the William F. Weld Professor at Law at Harvard Law School, and the founder of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society. Nesson was Camera's tort professor when the latter was at Harvard, Camera said.

"The accusation that I have somehow violated the protective order is nothing more than an attempt to distract this Court from what is at issue in this round of supplemental briefing -- namely, Apple's complete failure to provide testimony from a corporate representative on damages," Camera said in the court filing last Wednesday.

In late July, Nesson posted on his blog a copy of an e-mail exchange between Camera and Rudy Pedraza, Psystar's CEO and co-founder. Camera had copied Nesson on his reply to Pedraza.

"I've also been thinking about the upcoming visit from Apple during depo[sition] week (which in my opinion is akin to letting Terrorists visit the Pentagon)," said Pedraza in his message to Camera on July 23. "Although the idea makes me uneasy, I figure that if we let them in, we might has well have an *event* for the public the same day showcasing our products and letting customers touch and feel them first hand. How do you feel about that?" Pedraza asked.

"The theme of this day would be something like 'The circus comes to town,' with everyone knowing Apple was also coming and at the same time making the public aware of how ridiculous Apple is behaving," continued Pedraza. "Of course, the key to pulling this off is planning, so we would need to get the visit date nailed down ASAP to ensure we get good media coverage."

Camera liked the scheme. "I also like the circus idea," he said in his reply to Pedraza later that day. "We need to make sure that our circus day doesn't vary in any material way from how we do business ordinarily, other than that lots of people plus Apple are also roaming around the office."

Psystar did extend an invitation to the public to "come and show your support" in an Aug. 8 entry on the company's blog. In that entry, titled, "The Circus Comes To Town," Psystar said Apple officials would visit its facility on Sunday, Aug 9. "They will observe the building process from start to finish, including the installation of OS X on our machines," an unidentified Psystar employee wrote. "We believe the only thing they will discover is what we have been open about from the start, and of course the scorching Florida heat."