SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – After nearly a decade in legal wrangling, a billion-dollar class-action lawsuit over Apple’s iPod music players heads to trial on Tuesday in a California federal court.
Attorneys for consumers and electronics retailers claim Apple Inc. used software in its iTunes store that forced would-be song buyers to use iPods instead of cheaper music players made by rivals. The software is no longer used, but the plaintiffs argue that it inflated the prices of millions of iPods sold between 2006 and 2009 – to the tune of $350 million. Under federal antitrust law, the tech giant could be ordered to pay three times that amount if the jury agrees with the estimate and finds the damages resulted from anti-competitive behavior.
Underscoring the case’s hoary origins – it was filed in January 2005, which is eons ago by Silicon Valley standards – one of the key witnesses will be legendary Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who died in 2011 but will be heard in a videotaped deposition.
“The fact that this case is still going 10 years later is a sign that technology often outpaces law,” said Mark Lemley, a Stanford law professor.
Attorneys are set to make opening statements Tuesday morning in the Oakland, California courtroom of U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.