A class action lawsuit filed against Apple Inc.
accuses the company of knowingly controlling the handheld market with
its FairPlay music standard, forcing rivals out of business and
allowing it to overcharge customers for iPods -- news that comes just
as CD sales are reported to have dropped sharply in 2007.
Class action charges Apple with digital music monopoly
A 24-page class action complaint submitted this week in a Northern
District of California court alleges that Apple is unfairly tying the
iTunes Store and the iPod together by selling much of its music in the
FairPlay AAC format. Customers who own the iPod must buy from iTunes if
they want music in a protected format; in just the same measure, iTunes
customers must buy an iPod if they want to listen to music on a
portable player.
