Apple is being sued for monopolistic tactics arising from tying the iPod to iTunes. Apple uses the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to threaten competitors who want to make products that can interoperate with iTunes and iPods — but it routinely reverse-engineers its own competitors' products and makes its own interoperable versions, such as Keynote and Preview.
"Apple has engaged in tying and monopolizing behavior, placing unneeded and unjustifiable technological restrictions on its most popular products in an effort to restrict consumer choice and restrain what little remains of its competition in the digital music markets. Apple's CEO Steve Jobs has himself compared Apple's digital music dominance to Microsoft's personal computer operating system dominance."
Apple sought to dismiss the complaint but U.S. District Judge James Ware shot Apple down on Dec. 20 (PDF download) In a Nov. 6 filing (PDF download), Apple argued that "imposing a duty of interoperability would inhibit the very innovation and technological advances that the antitrust laws are designed to promote."
(via Consumerist)
