Apple Stages Book Spurning

Upset Over Unauthorized Bio Of CEO, Bans Publisher's Other Books

(AP)  Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said company executives were declining to comment.

Lori Sayde, a spokeswoman for the publisher, says the company will publish the biography in its entirety.

"We're hoping that they will re-evaluate their position because we have worked very hard to establish a good relationship with Apple," Sayde said. "We're empathetic to all our tech authors who will lose out in this but we support our publisher's decision to publish this book."

Sayde did not know how much money Wiley & Sons could lose as a result of Apple's refusal to sell the publisher's books.

Cupertino-based Apple is known for aggressively protecting its intellectual property, as well as its image.

In December, Apple sued 25 unnamed individuals — presumed to be Apple employees — who allegedly leaked confidential product information in violation of nondisclosure agreements and California's Uniform Trade Secrets Act.

Apple then subpoenaed the Internet providers of three online reporters who wrote about the secret products, seeking to identify their sources. The reporters, backed by major media companies including The Associated Press, said Apple's efforts could erode the media's ability to report in the public's interest.

In January, Apple sued a 19-year-old publisher of another Web site that revealed trade secrets about the $499 Mac mini computer.

Defendants in that case include Harvard University student Nicholas Ciarelli, a Mac enthusiast who publishes the Web site ThinkSecret, and unnamed sources who tipped him off two weeks before Apple officially introduced the mini on Jan. 11.