For years, tech publications large and small have hovered around Apple like fruit flies, constantly digging for scoops about the company's future products. Every once in a while, Apple swats one.

Eric Goldman, a law professor at Santa Clara University, says that contracts can indeed be copyrighted, although it's rare. "It's not out of legal bounds to do this," Goldman told The Verge. "It's just kind of a jerk move. We all know what's happening here. Apple doesn't care about protecting the copyright of contracts. It's using copyright to try and suppress information that it doesn't want made public."

According to DMN's story, the site published the contract in June after acquiring it from unnamed source. Likely the contract's most significant aspect, according to DMN, was that it "forced sub-standard terms" on all but the largest and most influential indie labels — although the publication acknowledges that the labels offered little to no resistance to Apple's terms. Representatives from Apple and DMN did not respond to interview requests, so it's unclear why Apple appears to have waited more than three months to make its demand.

In the past, Apple has defended these actions by noting that the leaks are a serious threat. The company’s product launches are carefully orchestrated to ratchet up anticipation, and managers can't do that as easily if information leaks early. That may be, but it's worth noting that Apple doesn't often use these heavy-handed tactics when The New York Times or other prominent news organizations get scoops. In fact, in its most recent event for the iPhone 5S and 5C, marketing chief Phil Schiller even mentioned leaks on stage. "A few of you might have seen some shots [of the iPhone 5C] on the web," Schiller said. "And that's cool, because everyone is really excited about this."

As for Digital Music News, site operator Paul Resnikoff dinged Apple about its own infringing behavior, and no doubt will continue to criticize the company and other web distributors about the way they treat indie musicians.