Does it really hurt business?

Here is some news from the Palm Beach Post. It appears some people on the internet are leaking retailer's sales specials for the Friday after Thanksgiving. Office Depot just filed suit against one website owner.

I'm just not buying into this hurting sales. Some businesses say these are trade secrets. Others say they don't want their competitors knowing their plans. Many retailers today if they sell/price match you the same product that someone else advertises say for $600. So I don't really get the argument. Maybe someone out there can enlighten me.

Open Post- Don Surber, Cao's Blog, Stop The ACLU

A California college freshman has drawn the ire of some of the country's biggest retailers with his Web site, which leaks holiday shopping ads days in advance.

That includes Office Depot, which has taken its complaint to court.

The Delray Beach-based office supplies giant (NYSE: ODP, $29.51) is suing Michael Brim, saying he posted the company's ad circular that featured sales slated for the day after Thanksgiving.

The suit, filed Monday in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, aims at forcing Brim to remove all Office Depot ads and references to the company from the site.

"We want to make sure our promotional offers are coming directly from the company," said Office Depot spokesman Brian Levine. "That ensures that the information is accurate."

Brim's Web site, www.bfads.net or www.bf2005.com, posts advance copies of advertisements for Black Friday, the nickname for one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

Brim, 18, is an electrical engineering student at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif., according to published reports. He did not respond to interview requests Tuesday.

His is one of a handful of similar sites popping up to give holiday shoppers a sneak peek at upcoming sales. The elaborate circulars generally are distributed just a day or two ahead of the big day, but these sites post them days, even weeks, earlier. They presumably get leaked copies from employees or people involved in the ads' printing who don't have permission to distribute the ads.

Many retailers are furious, arguing that the sites hurt their holiday business. A few have taken legal action.

Home Depot, Sears and Kmart have taken steps to force Brim to remove their ads, according to published reports.

The concern is not about consumers seeing the ads early. Few are even paying attention, said Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, a consumer market research firm in Charleston, S.C.

This issue is other retailers.

"A retailer who's going to have some barn-burning price on Friday doesn't want his competitor to know about it," Beemer said. "Some retailers are breathing fire over it."

In its suit, Office Depot said the ads are confidential trade secrets. The early release tips off competitors on the company's sales, giving them time to adjust their prices.