Apple sued over iTunes interface

Now we know they're big

21 June 2005 23:28 GMT / By Kenneth Henry

Remember BT's attempt to claim ownership of the hyperlink? Well a similar “web-wide” method of software usage is the guiding light behind their cheeky lawsuit in which they alledge to have invented the “Computer Control System and User Interface for Media Playing Devices.” Which were “[able to] transfer music tracks to a portable music player, and search capabilities such as sorting music tracks by their genre, artist and album attributes.”

Shame that Winamp could do the same thing which began its life before 1999 not forgetting the first Rio hardware players the year before, but as far as Contois Music Technology is concerned, it's their patent that matters. It will be interesting to see if they'll try the same thing with any of OD2's partners or OD2 itself, since they have helped bring about the legal download industry with their technology, or Roxio, which legitimised Napster - or maybe they'll end up losing whatever they may force out of Apple.

We suspect Mr Jobs won't be opening his chequebook at any point in the foreseeable future. In addition, it'll be more ammunition for those people opposed to the patenting of computer software, as that review is in progress in Europe. Considering the EC's attitude to Microsoft, hopefully the decision makers will look to avoid situations like these.

Full tags

Biz, Lawsuits, Apple, Audio