去年12月，当iPad 1作为圣诞礼物大卖特卖，而iPad 2还只是个“传说”之时，互联网上出现了数款彩色iPad硅胶外套，但它们与iPad 1并不匹配。首先，这些保护套的后部有个洞，看起来应该与后置式摄像头相匹配。

    这是骗局、猜测、还是一次未经授权的泄密？当时并没有人能确定。

    如今，一切真相大白。上周二，中国一家法院宣布，因合谋窃取苹果（Apple）iPad 2的设计机密，3名被告被判处有期徒刑并被处以罚金。中国一家微博网站发布了法院的正式报告，整个案件具体如下：

    • 深圳迈拓电子有限公司（MacTop Electronics Co.）总经理肖承松以2万元人民币（约3，000美元）和折扣价购买迈拓公司产品为条件，向鸿海集团（Hon Hai）前员工侯鹏娜套取苹果iPad 2相关信息，而鸿海集团正是苹果iPad产品的代工厂商。

    • 侯鹏娜随后找到鸿海集团研发部工作人员林克诚。通过贿赂后者，侯鹏娜从林克诚手中获得了iPad 2后壳的数码图片。

    • 迈拓公司取得了数码图片，然后利用其中参数制造出多款彩色iPad 2硅胶保护套。

    • 为了向批发商推销，迈拓公司将保护套图片放上了中国B2B网站阿里巴巴。多位美国博主注意到此事，很快苹果也知晓了此事。此后，图片被删除，而调查工作也随即展开。

    法院宣判如下：肖承松被判处有期徒刑一年零六个月并被处罚金15万元（23,000美元）；林克诚被判处有期徒刑一年零两个月并被处罚金10万元（15,000美元）；侯鹏娜被判处有期徒刑一年并被处罚金3万元（4,600美元）。

    译者：项航

    In early December, when the original iPad was a hot-selling Christmas gift and the iPad 2 was still a rumor, there appeared on the Internet colorful images of silicone iPad cases that didn't fit the current model. For one thing, they each had a hole in the back that could accommodate a rear-facing camera.

    Was it a hoax, a guess or an unauthorized leak? At the time, nobody knew for sure.

    Now we know. On Tuesday, a Chinese court announced that it had fined and sentenced three people to prison for conspiring to steal Apple's (AAPL) secret iPad 2 design. According to the official court report issued through a Chinese microblogging service, this how the deal went down:

    • Xiao Chengsong, general manager of Shenzhen MacTop Electronics Co., offered 20,000 yuan (about $3,000), plus discounts on MacTop products, to Hou Pengna, a former employee at Hon Hai, which builds iPads for Apple, for information about the new model.

    • Ms. Hon then paid Lin Kecheng, who worked in Hon Hai's research and development department, for digital images of the iPad 2's back cover.

    • The images made their way back to MacTop Electronics, which used the specs to produce silicone covers in a rainbow of colorful designs.

    • The covers were advertised to wholesalers on Alibaba.com, a Chinese business-to-business site, where they were spotted by bloggers in the U.S. and, shortly thereafter, by Apple. The images were removed and an investigation begun.

    For their trouble, Xiao was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined 150,000 yuan ($23,000), Mr. Lin was sentenced to 14 months and fined 100,000 yuan ($15,000), and Ms. Hou was sentenced to a year in prison and fined 30,000 yuan ($4,600).