Apple heads back to the courts
There must be plenty of overtime around if you work in Apple’s legal department. After the Apple v Apple dispute, they now have another issue – the company has been accused of using another company’s technology without permission. And it might even lead to iTunes being closed down.
Apple is accused of violating the intellectual property rights of Burst.com, which claims Apple has infringed four patents relating to music and video downloads on demand.
Burst’s complaint is a response to an Apple lawsuit filed against it earlier this year. The Apple suit seeks the dismissal of Burst’s patents as invalid, along with a non-infringement ruling.
Burst’s anti-Apple countersuit asks the court to force Apple to suspend sales of the iPod, QuickTime streaming software and the iTunes jukebox application. It also wants the iTunes Music Store to be closed. All four products and services, Burst alleges, infringe its patents. Burst also wants the court to impose "reasonable" royalty payments on Apple. According to a statement from Burst: "While we had hoped to avoid litigation and negotiate a reasonable license fee, it is Apple’s own actions that have forced our hand."
Via The Register
More Apple:
Apple limits iPod volume levels
Apple offers TV show subscriptions
