Apple Taking Legal Action Against Former Employee For Allegedly Revealing Company Secrets

Apple is looking to take legal action against one of its former managers who wrote a book that could reveal some crucial “company secrets,” reports say.

Tom Sadowski, a former Apple employee who worked for the company for 10 years, five of which was spent as head of the App Store for Austria, Germany and Switzerland, wrote a book that the Cupertino tech giant believes will reveal “business secrets,” German site Focus.de reported (via Benzinga).

Apple told German newspaper Die Zeit that the book includes details that are “of considerable economic value” to the company. Because of this, the iPhone maker told Sadowski and Hamburg-based publisher Murmann Verlag to cease printing and sales of the book, as well as to recall existing copies. The company also told them to destroy all existing book manuscripts.

The Cupertino-based tech giant said in a statement that it “has long supported a free press and supports authors of all kinds,” but asks Sadowski and the publisher to do as it requested because the former employee had “violated his employment relationship” with the complany.

“While we regret the way this longstanding Apple employee violated our working relationship, his actions left us with no other option but to terminate his employment — a decision agreed upon by the works council,” Apple said.

Sadowski and Murmann Verlag, however, refused Apple's request and did not agree to its demands.

What's it about anyway?

In a blog, Sadowski explained that the book “App Store Confidential” was not written as a “settlement” or a “betrayal of secrets.” It is, according to him, “a kind of autobiographical non-fiction book” that tells his story – how he came to Apple and how his tenure at the company has made him the person that he is today. He said he is “extremely grateful” for the 10 years he spent there.

Sadowski explained that in the book, readers will find an overview of how the app business works; reveals factors that are necessary for those who want to succeed in the app business; and provides “do's and dont's.”

Those who are interested to get the book can do so via Amazon.de and Amazon.com. It only comes in a German version, and is still available as of writing time.