Apple settles iPod lawsuit for $10M

**Glaswegian** · 11-26-2007, 04:14 PM

Apple Inc. last week agreed to settle a patent dispute with Burst.com Inc., ending two years of litigation.

Under the agreement, Apple will pay Burst.com $10 million and get access to the company's patent portfolio, with some exceptions, Burst.com said in a press release. Apple won't have access to four of Burst's patents, including three pending patents related to DVR technology. Court costs, expenses and attorney fees will reduce Burst.com's proceeds to $4.6 million.

Burst agreed not to sue Apple over current or pending DVR patents, it said.

The company alleged that Apple infringed four patents for transmission of compressed audio and video files, in iTunes, iLife, QuickTime and the iPod.

In 2004, Burst.com asked Apple to license some of its patents, saying they were at the heart of the iPod. In January 2006, Apple sued Burst.com in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, seeking a judgment that the Burst.com patents were invalid and not infringed. Burst countersued in April 2006, alleging that Apple infringed four of its patents.

Burst.com settled a similar case with Microsoft Corp. for $60 million last year.

11-26-2007, 04:14 PM	#1 (permalink)
Glaswegian Moderator/ Rangemaster TSF Academy; Analyst, Security Team; Oor Wullie; TSF Surgeon and Resident Comic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Glasgow Posts: 25,499 OS: Win XP Pro SP3 / Win 7 Pro My System Blog Entries: 10	Apple settles iPod lawsuit for $10M Apple Inc. last week agreed to settle a patent dispute with Burst.com Inc., ending two years of litigation. Under the agreement, Apple will pay Burst.com $10 million and get access to the company's patent portfolio, with some exceptions, Burst.com said in a press release. Apple won't have access to four of Burst's patents, including three pending patents related to DVR technology. Court costs, expenses and attorney fees will reduce Burst.com's proceeds to $4.6 million. Burst agreed not to sue Apple over current or pending DVR patents, it said. The company alleged that Apple infringed four patents for transmission of compressed audio and video files, in iTunes, iLife, QuickTime and the iPod. In 2004, Burst.com asked Apple to license some of its patents, saying they were at the heart of the iPod. In January 2006, Apple sued Burst.com in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, seeking a judgment that the Burst.com patents were invalid and not infringed. Burst countersued in April 2006, alleging that Apple infringed four of its patents. Burst.com settled a similar case with Microsoft Corp. for $60 million last year. __________________ Iain - Defender of the Haggis and all things Scottish. I don't help by PM - post in the Forums. PC Safety & Security::PC running a bit slow?::Donate::Photographers Corner