Do a series of photographs and technical drawings posted on the Web earlier this week actually depict Apple's much-rumored revision of its iMac line?

Apple isn't talking, but the company's swift response -- reportedly including threats of legal action -- lends credence to speculation that the revised consumer desktop is close at hand.

The photographs show iMacs in transparent plastic cases with color accents -- including a new "Graphite" iMac.

The furor began Monday with the German site Macnews, which displayed several photographs of what was said to be the new iMac, code-named Kihei.

Soon afterward, the U.S.-based AppleInsider site also posted one of the photos, joining a series of diagrams already on the site purportedly showing the internal structure of the forthcoming iMac.

At Apple's behest
Within a day, both sites had taken down all the Kihei-related images.

Although Macnews was not available for comment, a message posted on the AppleInsider site made it clear why they images were removed: "This image has been removed at Apple legal's demand" appeared in place of the photograph and diagrams.

Apple spokeswomen did not return MacWEEK telephone calls requesting comment.

Another Web site had posted photos of the transparent-case iMacs Tuesday, but the site, operated by the self-identified "KiheiGuy" was offline by midday Wednesday after attracting more than 60,000 page views, according to a hit-counter on the site.

The site Webmaster, who insisted on anonymity, told MacWEEK that the page was removed and his account canceled by host Tripod "for containing and/or distributing copyrighted material without the express permission of the creator or owner."

One of the photos was still available Wednesday on the Dutch AppleBits site.

'Trade secrets'?
Apple's threat of legal action over publication of the photographs seem to suggest that they are indeed genuine images of forthcoming Apple products -- and their reproduction amounts to "misappropriation of trade secrets."

Business-law attorney Rubin Turner, senior partner at the Los Angeles law firm of Turner Aubert & Friedman, told MacWEEK that Apple is within its rights to request the removal of the images.

"It appears that (the sites) violated Apple's copyright protection in appropriating the images," Turner said, noting that the photographs and diagrams, although not formally copyrighted materials, still have protection under "common-law" copyright.

There is also a more serious charge Apple could levy, Turner said. "If the images are of a product they have not released yet," he said, "these sites could be liable for misappropriation of trade secrets, too."

Being a civil wrong, he added, this could result in the sites being found liable for punitive damages.

However, this charge is predicated on the pictures being actual representations of an upcoming Apple product. If they were original creations of a hoaxer, Apple would not be able to make this accusation. And sources said that the misappropriation charges are exactly what Apple legal representatives have been proposing.

Next-gen iMacs next month?
In addition, the photographs appear to be of studio quality, suggesting they may have come from Apple's own marketing efforts and reflect the final look of the products.

'If the images are of a product they have not released yet, these sites could be liable for misappropriation of trade secrets.' -- Business-law attorney Rubin Turner

The availability of studio-quality images support MacWEEK sources who said Apple would unveil the next-generation iMacs by the second week of October.

They also seem to confirm details published in MacWEEK and elsewhere that the new models will include a trayless DVD drive and a standard 15-inch CRT, as well as a fully transparent chassis, including a Graphite color scheme.

The specifications that accompanied the photos on the Macnews site also jibe with MacWEEK sources who reported that Kihei iMacs will include a G3 processor, FireWire ports, optional AirPort wireless networking and a consumer version of Apple's Final Cut Pro video editing software.

Three product lines
Macnews' report suggested that the next-generation iMac would be split into three product lines, with a Blueberry base model, an upgraded "DV" model available in five colors and a "Special Edition" sporting a Graphite enclosure to match the Power Mac G4 line.

According to Macnews, all the new iMacs will feature an improved Harmon-Kardon sound system.

The base model will have a 350MHz G3 processor, 64MB of RAM, a CD-ROM drive, a 56Kbps internal modem and a 6GB hard drive. The mid-range model will include two FireWire ports, a 400MHz G3 processor, 64MB of RAM, a 10GB hard drive and a DVD drive. The Special Edition will add more RAM (shipping with 128MB) and a 13GB hard drive.

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