“Apple Computer Inc. said Friday it is facing [a lawsuit] alleging the company created an illegal monopoly by tying iTunes music and video sales to its market-leading iPod portable players,” Betsy Schiffman reports for The Associated Press.
“The case, filed July 21, is over Apple’s use of a copy-protection system that generally prevents iTunes music and video from playing on rival players. Likewise, songs purchased elsewhere aren’t easily playable on iPods,” Schiffman reports.
Schiffman reports, “The plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages and other relief. The court denied Apple’s motion to dismiss the complaint on Dec. 20.”
Full article here.
From Apple’s 10-K for Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2006:
Tucker v. Apple Computer, Inc.
Plaintiff filed this purported class action on July 21, 2006 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California alleging various claims including alleged unlawful tying of music and videos purchased on the iTunes Store with the purchase of iPods and vice versa and unlawful acquisition or maintenance of monopoly market power. The complaint alleges violations of §§1 and 2 of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. §§1 and 2), California Business & Professions Code §16700 et seq. (the Cartwright Act), California Business & Professions Code §17200 (unfair competition), and the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act. Plaintiff seeks unspecified damages and other relief. On November 3, 2006, the Company filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, which was heard on November 20, 2006. On December 20, 2006, the Court denied the motion to dismiss.
A similar lawsuit also detailed in Apple’s 10-K:
Charoensak v. Apple Computer, Inc. (formerly Slattery v. Apple Computer, Inc.)
The original Plaintiff (Slattery) filed this purported class action on January 3, 2005 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California alleging various claims including alleged unlawful tying of music purchased on the iTunes Store with the purchase of iPods and vice versa and unlawful acquisition or maintenance of monopoly market power. Plaintiff’s complaint alleged violations of §§1 and 2 of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. §§1 and 2), California Business and Professions Code §16700 et seq. (the Cartwright Act), California Business and Professions Code §17200 (unfair competition), common law unjust enrichment and common law monopolization. Plaintiff sought unspecified damages and other relief. The Company filed a motion to dismiss on February 10, 2005. On September 9, 2005, the Court denied the motion in part and granted it in part. Plaintiff filed an amended complaint on September 23, 2005 and the Company filed an answer on October 18, 2005. On May 8, 2006, the Court heard Plaintiff’s motion for leave to file a second amended complaint to substitute two new plaintiffs for Slattery. In August 2006, the court dismissed Slattery without prejudice and allowed plaintiffs to file an amended complaint naming two new plaintiffs (Charoensak and Rosen). On November 2, 2006, the Company filed an answer to the amended complaint denying all material allegations and asserting numerous affirmative defenses. The hearing on class certification is set for April 16, 2007.
Related articles:
Judge allows antitrust suit against Apple for iPod+iTunes illegal ‘tying’ to proceed – February 06, 2006
Antitrust suit filed against Apple, alleges iPod and iTunes Music Store illegally ‘tied’ together – January 05, 2005
Fine, then we also need the following lawsuits to happen…
Sue Microsoft for unlawfully tying the Zune exclusively to the Zune Marketplace
Sue Microsoft for unlawfully tying Xbox games exclusively to Microsoft Xbox hardware
Sue Sony for unlawfully tying PlayStation games exclusively to Sony PlayStation hardware
Sue XM for unlawfully tying XM programming exclusively to XM radio hardware
Sue Dish Network for unlawfully tying Dish programming exclusively to Dish hardware
Those are just a few examples of why this lawsuit is an absolute joke. Companies do this stuff all of the time and there is nothing illegal about it.
What weasels are doing these suits? They work for rival companies?
Apple will prevail because their music is universally available via iTunes. First?
I wasn’t even close
Then sue all the other music services for tying to Windows… At least iTunes will play on any computer out there.
Lawsuit here and a lawsuit there, a real example of democratic freedom ..
harry, what have lawsuits got to do with democratic freedom? if anything, lawsuits are a perfect example of democratic freedom – dispute resolution according to the rule of law.
Is there a way we could sue the DoJ for not dismissing stupid cases? Ones like this and other pointless ones that make me feel like it’s turning back evolution?
Well, the repercussions of this case (if the plaintiffs win) will be other lawsuits to follow including Microsoft and its Zune player, which not only is tied to its Zune software and Marketplace, but is Windows-only, which already has been a monopoly problem.
MDN; keep us abreast on this lawsuit.
Only in California. We have messed up judges.
The fact that Microsoft entered the market with the Zune makes the argument that Apple has a monopoly less tenable (despite Zune’s likely demise). It shows M$, at least, does not consider it to be a closed market.
This is standard operating procedure for Apple. They force you into their “solutions” with proprietary formats and software. Hey iPod lemmings, you want freedom from this tyranny? Go with Microsoft + Zune! Redmond doesn’t play the proprietary game. They level the playing field with open formats like .DOC, WMA and ActiveX. They don’t have to hide behind proprietary schemes to secure a market position and then have the gall to call their platform “open”.
Leave behind the constraints of burning purchased music to CD’s, or sharing it on up to 5 computers, or streaming it to powered speakers anywhere in range of an Airport Express Base Station. Free yourselves from the shackles of putting hundreds of songs on an iPod and using it anywhere: at home, in a car, out on a jog, connected to powered speakers. Apple has you snookered. I bet dealing with Apple’s DRMed files is miserable. You can’t do anything but play them on an also-ran, wish-I-was-half-a-Zune iPod. What’s worse is you probably can’t drag non-DRMed MP3 files to a non-iPod music player right from the godawful Finder or magnificent Explorer in Windows. Apple sure ain’t gonna give you a right-click access to the MP3 file right from iTunes. You can’t even convert DRMed AAC files to MP3, or even better, the wide-open independently-approved industry standard WMA either. Losers.
With Zune it’s totally different, and that’s why 2007 will be the year of the a Zunatic.
Welcome to the Social.
harry, what have lawsuits got to do with democratic freedom? if anything, lawsuits are a perfect example of democratic freedom – dispute resolution according to the rule of law.
Our system of juriprudence encourages suits which amount to legal extortion. It encourages law firms to take on plaintiffs with no case, knowing that the defendent will make a business decison to settle. Businesses do this because the cost of defense is most times greater than the cost of settling out of court.
The plaintiff’s lawyers get paid hard cash, while the defendent gets coupons for free product.
I’m sure the asswipes who bring these lawsuits are so “damaged” from iTunes’ proprietary integration with iPod. I can just imagine their pain. How do they get through the day? It must be torture. Poor, poor babies. Greedy, worthless pukes!
What a laugh, boy the laywers and papers are going to make a bundle.
Oh and one more thing Zune Thang. Your spew about this is the year that will be known as blah blah Zune blah blah blah.
Doesn’t look like the media is showing 2006 to be that way.
Apple’s iPod king of consumer electronics again in ’06
http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2337
AGAIN Zune Thang…LOL
And not even a mac affiliated site: 2006: The year in music. The guy made a prediction back in 2005:
Short of hell freezing over, look for the iPod to maintain its Top Dog position throughout 2006.
http://playlistmag.com/news/2006/12/29/music06/index.php
Well the only thing to freeze were Zune sales…LOL
He gets it:”Professional prognosticators suggested that the $249 Zune—which featured a unique “squirt” technology for transferring music from one Zune to another wirelessly—would do little to take a chunk out of the iPod’s popularity with holiday buyers. This proved to be the case, as harsh reviews did little to popularize Microsoft’s flawed music player.”
Welcome to the social…reviews.
Oh well there is always 2007 and revisionistic history.
This article is by the notorious Betsy Schiffman, whose career has been 99% as a real estate writer for Forbes. She’s responsible for one of the most famous pieces of technical FUD ever written. To quote one of the gaming sites:
Quote:
“The journalistic tragedy resumed this week when Forbes.com again published a scathing review of Nintendo’s recent efforts titled, Nintendo’s Holidaze. The painfully moronic article by Betsy Shiffman makes one incorrect claim after another, pausing only for interjection of personal views. Inaccurate claims that Nintendo is losing $180 per console sold and the author’s questioning, “why the company is in the business in the first place,” make this one of the worst examples industry analysis in history.
Given the demographics of Forbes readership, does such failure to accurately represent the truth indicate a breach in the publication’s ethical responsibilities to the investing community? Publisher of Forbes, Larstin Publishing stated that “Independent documentation by the Wall Street Journal indicates that favorable mention in Forbes has sent companies stock prices soaring.” What about a negative mention? What about when that negative mention is deeply flawed?”
To dredge up nuisance lawsuits from last July and October to try to manufacture a hit piece against Apple is truly pathetic. Ms. Schiffman should go back to researching the most expensive zip codes in America. I have a suggestion for Ms. Schiffman: A few nice gardening articles would be nice. IT’S HARD TO DO MUCH DAMAGE WRITING ABOUT BEGONIAS, MORON!
If you can’t build a better mousetrap sue the guy who does. I can’t determine which is more distressing, the dearth of intelligence of the plaintiff or the lack of ethics by his lawyers.
Zune Tang is doing satire. He is a fake Microsoft apologist, doing for Redmond what Stephen Colbert does for the White House. If you think even harder, you might see that he’s satirizing spin and zeolotry in general as well.
The only thing funnier than Zune Tang these days is when somebody takes him seriously…keep it coming!
I am the real Zune Tang! I wish this fake Zune Tang would quit posting that crap as me, the real Zune Tang.
Oh yeah, I am a dickless fool that likes to rub my brown Zune between me asscheeks to keep the brown color fresh.
Can we sue MS for not making full version of MS Office for Mac? I don’t think so.
Finnish Cellphone service provider advertises on TV that their music store is available only to their customers. I don’t see people rioting in the streets.
I think the thing that pisses of some people is that iTS/iPod is doing so damn good. A thing that can change in a future. MS wasn’t split and they looked like Standard Oil to me, and they still do.
MW: case. Time for new case. MS has Windows (home, pro, server, gaming and htpc markets), XBox, Office and now Zune. Sounds like they’re after total world domination is DoJ blind, bribed or is it that they just don’t care.
It’s not good for anyone that one company gets too big.
WRONG WRONG WRONG
Music purchased from iTunes will, indeed, play on a Windows-based computer.
A Windows-based computer IS a rival player. It may not be very portable, but it IS a rival player.
PERIOD
Zune Tang is doing satire.
F— ZUNE TANG! F— him, f— Sputnik, and f— any other so-called “satirists” filling this forum with their sh*t!!! IT STOPPED BEING FUNNY A LONG TIME AGO!!
Zune Tang is a troll! It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t actually believe the crap he spews — the result is the same: the forum gets filled with angry responses. That’s the goddamn textbook definition of a troll!
I am sick and tired of people defending this bonehead. For the love of God, Zune Tang, SHUT THE F— UP AND GO AWAY!!!
LordRobin gets it.
Thank you, LordRobin—your post is pure gold. I hope all your wishes and dreams come true this coming new year. Cuddles.
Your potential. Our passion.
Hey, you gotta appreciate Zune Tang’s weirdo style humor. I like to be entertained by nonsense
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