Apple settles iTunes software interface lawsuit
AppleInsider StaffApple Computer has settled a lawsuit filed by a Vermont-based business owner who claimed the iPod maker stole his software interface design and used it to create iTunes.
As first reported by AppleInsider, Contois Music Technology in June of 2005 asked a Federal Court to stop Apple from distributing its iTunes jukebox software and requested that it be awarded damages over an alleged patent violation.
Specifically, the suit alleged that Apple's iTunes software interface design infringed on Contois' six-year old design patent (US Patent No. 5,864,868) entitled "Computer Control System and User Interface for Media Playing Devices."
In the 10-page suit, lawyers for Contois said that David Contois, the owner, conceived of and developed a computer interface for playing music on an internal or external computer-responsive music device, which he then exhibited at the 1995 COMDEX trade show and the 1996 NAMM music industry trade show.
According to the suit, persons who were at the time employed by or later became employed by Apple were present at both trade shows and viewed Contois' software. The suit charged that Apple later "copied" the invention and used the design ideas in the interface for iTunes.
Specifically, Contois documented 19 interface aspects of the iTunes software that it claimed were in direct violation of Contois' patent. Those areas included iTunes' menu selection process to allow the user to select music to be played, the ability of the software to transfer music tracks to a portable music player, and search capabilities such as sorting music tracks by their genre, artist and album attributes.
"We're glad to get back to teaching music and selling musical instruments," Dan Contois, a brother of David Contois, told the Burlington Free Press. "The terms are confidential. We can't discuss them."
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Andrew Orr
Mike Wuerthele
Andrew O'Hara
16 Comments
I always think things like these are silly, they would never have made a piece of software like itunes and just want some money. if someone thinks something up but never does anything about it, and its a good idea, i think its good for someone else to make their vision a reality.
also, this is such an obvious design that many people could have thought of aspects of it without having the knowhow or funds to create it.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ][/c]
Yes, drag and drop from software to music device. Patented. WTF It's like a spreadsheet. Sort by column. But sort by column in a music software and it's Patented. WTF
search capabilities such as sorting music tracks by their genre, artist and album attributes.
That is an invention worth patenting. Maybe I should patent a feature of my app that allows it to minimize and maximize the window it is using.
The thing that strikes me the most amusing is that the suit wasn't filed until 4 years after the iPod and iTunes started working together. And it's not like iTunes has flown under the radar; it's about as visible a product as there is. If this was causing such problems, why not file suit years ago?
A friend of mine has just started http://www.bleedingobvious.org/ for registering obvious ideas and fighting off stupid patents.
The idea is that when a stupid patent is granted, it can be challenged on the basis of prior art.