Apple sued over iTunes UI

Apple has been slapped with a , AppleInsider reports. Contois Music Technology last week asked a Federal Court to stop the company from distributing its iTunes jukebox software and is seeking damages over an alleged patent violation by the software. The suit alleges that Apple's iTunes software design infringes on a six-year old design patent entitled "Computer Control System and User Interface for Media Playing Devices." Contois is seeking an injunction blocking Apple from distributing iTunes in its current form. The company also asked the Court for an unspecified amount of damages resulting from Apple's "copying and willful infringement."

Lawyers for Contois said that David Contois 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 charges Apple later "copied" the invention and used the design ideas in the interface for its iTunes software.??Contois identifies 19 interface aspects of the iTunes software that it claims are in direct violation of the patent. These areas include iTunes' menu selection process, the ability of the software to transfer music tracks to a portable music player, and search capabilities such as sorting music tracks by genre, artist and album.??Contois claims to have notified Apple in writing of its patent in September 2004 but believed that Apple became aware of the patent on its own more than 18 months earlier in January 2003.?
"On information and belief, Apple's infringement has been and continues to be willful."

by MacNN Staff