Apple's iTunes DRM didn't violate antitrust laws, jury finds

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2015
After years of litigation, Apple on Tuesday was found not to have violated U.S. antitrust laws with the FairPlay digital rights management software that prevented users from loading content from rival music stores on early iPods.



The jury returned the not guilty verdict less than a day after deliberations began, according to Reuters. If found guilty, Apple could have paid some $350 million in penalties.

Both Apple and the plaintiffs gave their closing arguments on Monday. The case focused on Apple's iTunes 7.0 software update, which the plaintiffs argued "knocked out competitors" like RealNetworks.
Apple successfully convinced the jury that its iPod and iTunes security measures were installed to protect users from potentially malicious software, and not to marginalize competing music download services.
Before Tuesday's decision, the suit saw its share of troubles, including improper representation of the class by its original plaintiffs. The trial involved a class of plaintiffs who purchased Apple's iPod classic, iPod shuffle, iPod touch or iPod nano models between Sept. 12, 2006 and March 31, 2009.

Apple successfully argued its iPod and iTunes security measures were installed to protect users from potentially malicious software outside of their control. The company's security director Augustin Farrugia testified in court that Apple was "very paranoid" in implementing an extremely protected digital music service, especially when it came to possible pirated music and malware.

The complaint was first filed against Apple in 2005, and originally centered around RealNetworks and Apple's efforts to block songs from its storefront to be transferred to iPods. The lawsuit took issue with Apple's "refusal to license FairPlay technology to other companies," but those claims were dismissed in December of 2009 after Apple negotiated a deal with record labels to remove DRM from music purchases.

The lawsuit carried on, however, accusing Apple of violating federal antitrust laws. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was even ordered to testify on the case in 2011, months before his death, and his comments were a key part of the trial.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 106



    Hurrah !

  • Reply 2 of 106
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Haha, good news!

    The jury sure didnt deliberate for long! This case was a no brainer!:smokey:
  • Reply 3 of 106
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    No soup for you. NEXT!
  • Reply 4 of 106
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    The people who were suing are no different than a bunch a sleazy leeches, trying to scam money out of Apple. They had no case at all!

    The article doesnt mention this, but they should have to pay for all of the expenses in this case! That would only be fair!

    I hope that they do have to pay! Screw those scumbags! Apple winning is good, but i would like to see people hurting, at least financially!
  • Reply 5 of 106
    Of course. This was never in question.

    Now sue the morons responsible for this for damages.
  • Reply 6 of 106

    Finally, something is making some sense.

  • Reply 7 of 106
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    And AAPL is now under 108 again! What a joke!

  • Reply 8 of 106
    Countersue! Countersue!
  • Reply 9 of 106

    Wish we'd had this sensible jury on the Samsung case. And here's hoping for more good news on the e-book appeal, although looks like it will be months before we hear more on that. 

  • Reply 10 of 106

    Hooray!, but it's one down; how many more to follow?

    These lawsuits are like the zombie apocalypse.

  • Reply 11 of 106
    Originally Posted by MontroseMacs View Post

    Wish we'd had this sensible jury on the Samsung case.



    We did, just not a sensible amount of damages. $25 billion (before tripling) would have been more accurate.

  • Reply 12 of 106
    More juries need to inform themselves of their ability to both ignore the instructions of the judge AND to determine that the law itself is wrong.

    Google, Bing or DuckDuckGo: Fully Informed Jury Association

    Learn about jury nullification, one of the most powerful tools we have as citizens to beat back improperly applied laws.
  • Reply 13 of 106
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by RadarTheKat View Post



    No soup for you. NEXT!



    You mean, NeXT? <img class=" src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" />

     

    Justice is served! Send the attorney bills to whoever owns the corpse of RealNetworks!

  • Reply 14 of 106
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

     



    We did, just not a sensible amount of damages. $25 billion (before tripling) would have been more accurate.


    Hopefully that's what Oracle ends up getting from Google.

  • Reply 15 of 106

    Clear, quick, obvious and right ...

     

    This shouldn't have been dragged on so long. One small consolation is the time and treasure wasted by whoever was behind this. That is just deserts of a sort ...

  • Reply 16 of 106
    h2ph2p Posts: 329member

    In a word, "Perfect!"

  • Reply 17 of 106
    h2ph2p Posts: 329member

    ...and in the Samsung case, I was hoping for $8 Billion (profits) x 3.

  • Reply 18 of 106
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by battiato1981 View Post

     

    Clear, quick, obvious and right ...

     

    This shouldn't have been dragged on so long. One small consolation is the time and treasure wasted by whoever was behind this. That is just deserts of a sort ...




    Wait for it...

     

    "We intend to appeal...." 

  • Reply 19 of 106
    I bought one album off of real networks. It was a matter of drag and drop to get it into iTunes. Same way now with Amazon Music. Easy.
  • Reply 20 of 106
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member

    Finally, some fucking sanity. 

     

    Also, I'm kicking around the idea of getting more stock. I'm thinking there's some big gains to be had between now and whenever they announce their christmas results. 

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