# Misappropriation of Lost Property **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misappropriation-of-lost-property/537260 "2010-04-25T01:19:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misappropriation-of-lost-property/537260/21 "2010-04-29T17:06:48Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > That fails the laugh test on two levels. I’m pretty sure “Well, I wasn’t planning on _keeping_ it” is not a valid defense against buying stolen property. And, of course, the media organization _didn’t need_ media interest in order to find the owner. They already knew the owner was Apple, and, while random guy in a bar might not know who to call, surely a major tech blog knows _somebody_ high enough up in Apple who will take their call seriously when they say they have a lost prototype iPhone. I don’t see how it fails the laugh test. Just because you do an expose on a newsworthy item does not mean you are not going to return it when the owner asks. If all I do is put up posters on the local telephone poles “found, lost puppy” am I automatically guilty of theft? Making a major news story out of it kind of defeats they argument “they meant to keep it”- again by the laugh test. If you have something “stolen” or found which you want to keep, the last thing you do is plaster the fact all over the internet in ten-foot-high Times Roman. Their site likely has a “Contact Us” link which proves that when the real owner sees it, all they have to do is call. Just because it wasn’t the super-express route to return the item does not mean it was not meant to be returned. The law does not prevent a journalist from writing a story about what they encountered on the way to returning it. Is it theft if you post your find on the web site, the owner knows exactly where to find it? What logic is there in calling the police instead of just going there and collecting it? If they went there to collect it and were turned away, they might have a case; or if they claimed it was theirs, and Gizmodo did not accept reasonable proof… But if they gave it to a contractor to evaluate (a completely hypothetical scenario) and he lost it, is it the contractor’s or Apples? What proof would you demand before handing the thing over to someone who walked through your door? The devil and the lawyers are in the details… I suspect an interesting argument will be the “unathorized hacking” if they “broke into” the phone in any way. How did the special computer squad get involved in a l"ost property under minor $X" case anyway? In what way does this fall under their jurisdiction unless there was hacking? Undue influence? The lawyers will have a field day with that one too. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misappropriation-of-lost-property/537260/22 "2010-04-30T11:19:04Z")
We now know who found the phone at the bar. [http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9176158/Lawyer\_confirms\_identity\_of\_lost\_iPhone\_seller?taxonomyId=70](http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9176158/Lawyer_confirms_identity_of_lost_iPhone_seller?taxonomyId=70) ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misappropriation-of-lost-property/537260/23 "2010-04-30T20:15:01Z")
> [@Noel\_Prosequi](#): > > Significant theoretical problems can emerge when the property found is unidentifiable - a $20 note, for example, found on the street. In most cases, there is no prospect of identifying the owner. It’s probably not strictly abandoned, but a prosecution would be very difficult without a complainant able to demonstrate that the money was uniquely his. Under the common law, lost property belongs foremost to the owner, of course. However, if the owner cannot be identified (as is the case with money found on a street), it belongs to the finder if it is found in a public place, but to the owner of the land if found in a private place. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misappropriation-of-lost-property/537260/24 "2010-04-30T23:08:20Z")
> [@Ionizer](#): > > Walrus: Apple denied it was theirs. More than once. According to the ComputerWorld article that **JoelUpchurch** linked to a couple of posts ago, Apple reported it stolen, and Gizmodo acknowledged that it was stolen: > [@ComputerWorld](#): > > Apple reported the iPhone stolen last week, BusinessWeek said yesterday. Quoting Wagstaffe, BusinessWeek said an outside attorney for Apple and the engineer who lost the prototype sparked the investigation by contacting authorities. Wagstaffe was not immediately available late Thursday to confirm BusinessWeek’s report. > [@ComputerWorld](#): > > Brian Lam, Gizmodo’s editorial director, has acknowledged that the prototype had been stolen, not simply lost. “Just so you know, we didn’t know this was stolen when we bought it,” Lam said in a blog post that described Apple’s request for the iPhone’s return. Gizmodo later said it had returned the iPhone to Apple. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misappropriation-of-lost-property/537260/25 "2010-05-01T03:27:54Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:24, topic:537260”] According to the ComputerWorld article that **JoelUpchurch** linked to a couple of posts ago, Apple reported it stolen, and Gizmodo acknowledged that it was stolen: [/QUOTE] Maybe that is why Chen’s apartment was raided? Maybe the police were trying to find some evidence, such as an email or a text message that would indicate that Gizmodo knew they buying stolen merchandise. It wasn’t clear to me why they were bothering to hold onto Chen’s computer once they knew Hogan’s identity. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misappropriation-of-lost-property/537260/26 "2010-05-01T16:37:41Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > It wasn’t clear to me why they were bothering to hold onto Chen’s computer once they knew Hogan’s identity. That’s not clear to me, either. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misappropriation-of-lost-property/537260/27 "2010-05-01T18:30:24Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Oh well, it’s the OJ tactic - if you don’t convict them, at least you bankrupt them with defence lawyer fees. I hope the guy didn’t spent that $5,000 already; he’s going to need it. Twice now you’ve brought this up, as if it was a) relevant and b) true. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misappropriation-of-lost-property/537260.md?page=1)