Apple to Defend Against iPod Antitrust Suit

After nearly a decade of legal wrangling, Apple will appear in federal court to defend against an antitrust suit stemming from an older generation of iPod music players. These older iPods played songs purchased from Apple’s iTunes Store or ripped from CDs -- but not tracks bought from competing online stores. Consumers who owned iPods could not easily switch to cheaper music players without losing their digital music catalogs. The class action suit brought by a group of consumers alleges Apple sought to monopolize the music-download market by stifling competition and limiting consumer choice.