Apple Accuses Former Contract Worker of Leaking Trade Secrets.

     Jose Galecio Lopez was arraigned in Sacramento Superior Court Friday but did not enter a plea on felony charges of misappropriating trade secrets, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office. 
     Lopez could not be reached for comment Monday. 
Earlier last week, Apple sued Lopez in Santa Clara County Superior Court, charging that last July he posted schematics and other details of a new model G4 PowerMac on the Internet. Though the complaint didn't say where the information was posted, Wired News said the details were sent to MacRumors.com., a site that often has inside information about Apple.
     At that time, Lopez was employed at Apple's Laguna West manufacturing plant as a contract worker with the Volt Services Group, according to the suit. 
     Apple says an employment agreement that Lopez signed with Volt's Sacramento office prohibited him from divulging confidential information. Officials with Volt could not be reached for comment. 
     An unknown defendant called Doe 1 is also named in the suit. 
     "Innovation is in Apple's DNA, so the protection of trade secrets is crucial to our success. Our policy is to take legal actions where necessary to preserve the confidentiality of our intellectual property," Apple said in a prepared statement. 
     The company wouldn't comment on why it waited five months to file its suit. 
     Apple, like other computer companies, closely guards details of its upcoming products, said Tim Bajarin, a Silicon Valley technology consultant and longtime Apple watcher. 
     He said the suit wasn't unusual and appeared aimed at enforcing confidentiality agreements. "If individuals sign some sort of legal agreement, they have to honor it," he said. 
Still, Bajarin said, Apple is more secretive than most companies about new products, especially approaching trade shows such as the upcoming Macworld, where Steve Jobs, the company chairman, typically unveils new products.
     In the weeks leading up to the trade shows, online sites such as MacRumors hum with speculation about new Apple products. And Jobs, a consummate showman, generally whips attendees into a frenzy as he unveils the latest Apple gadgets. 
     "Steve uses Macworld and other appearances more effectively than any other (technology) leader," Bajarin said. 
     "In that context they want to have that surprise element," because posting those secrets early dilutes the impact, Bajarin said. 
     Apple also could be girding for future trade secrets disputes by proving it aggressively polices its intellectual property, said Mike Mireles, who specializes in intellectual property law at Downey, Brand, Seymour & Rohwer in Sacramento. 
     This suit against Lopez helps show the company vigorously tries to protect its secrets, Mireles said. In addition, such suits could serve to deter other potential leakers, he said. 
     The suit against Lopez isn't the first time Apple has gone to court against those who leak secrets. In 2000 the company sued a temporary worker named Juan Gutierrez on grounds he posted details of new Apple products on an Internet site.