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Judge bars dead Steve Jobs from appearing on TV news FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE

Apple icon's deposition won't be given to the public

A US judge has stricken a request to release a video of Steve Jobs recorded just months before the Apple cofounder and CEO died in 2011.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers has denied [PDF] a motion filed by three US news organizations that would have compelled the court to make a video deposition from Jobs available to the public.

The judge found that the taped interview of the Apple boss did not meet the standard of a judicial record and has insufficient public relevance to warrant an order to make the video available to news outlets for release.

Lawyers from CNN, Bloomberg and the Associated Press had all petitioned the court to release a 27-minute deposition of Jobs recorded as evidence for the company's high-profile antitrust case over iTunes.

Apple had filed to prevent the release of the tape, arguing that it had no relevance to the public interest and that transcripts of the deposition had already been released by the court.

Judge Gonzalez-Rogers upheld Apple's claims, siding with the company and noting the concerns that could come from posting the deposition for all to see.

"If cameras in courtrooms were not currently prohibited, the argument might have less weight," the judge wrote.

"However, given the lack of authority approving such a release, the concern is well-taken that under the current rules, deponents have no expectation or notice that the videos will be disseminated beyond the presentation during trial."

The ruling is Apple's second court victory in as many days. On Tuesday the iGiant prevailed in an antitrust case accusing it of unfairly booting music off iPods. Apple's iTunes deliberated deleted from the iThings MP3s not obtained via the software, it was alleged. The US giant said this was an anti-piracy mechanism.

A jury took mere hours to decide, following nine years of legal wrangling, that the plaintiffs did not have standing to collect damage from Apple.

Jobs' deposition, particularly his comments on the company's dealings with rival Real Networks, had played a key role in the case. ®

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