Apple settles iTunes UI lawsuit

Someone at Apple has had to keep the checkbook on call lately. After forking over $100m to Creative for an iPod UI patent spat, Apple has just settled a second lawsuit, this time over various basic elements of the iTunes UI and functionality. We reported this way back in June of '05 when Contois Music Technology originally filed their lawsuit alleging that Apple employees witnessed some of their features at a mid-90's trade show, then promptly ripped them off. The list of duplicated features includes sorting music by genre, artist and album, as well as moving music to a portable device.

This time around, details of the settlement weren't disclosed, so it's anybody's guess as to how much they had to dig out of the couch cushions. Engadget hit it on the head: patent lawsuits are an ugly, expensive beasts, and Apple probably moved quickly to simply settle and walk away to fight another day. After all, it can't be easy being such a large target on top of the coveted DAP industry – especially when you might have stepped on someone else's toes to get there.