Apple to pay $8M in damages over iPod playlist patent suit
An Eastern Texas District Court judge has ordered Apple to pay US$8 Million to Personal Audio LLC, after ruling that the iPod manufacturer infringed upon patents for downloadable playlists. Specifically, the court determined that Apple violated two generic patents with its support for downloading playlists on the iPhone and the iPod.
According to Bloomberg, one of the patents addressed an "audio program player including a dynamic program selection controller" while the other was for "audio program distribution and playback system." Note that, while eight million bucks is nothing to sneeze at, it's less than the $84 million Personal Audio initially sought in 2009.
That initial suit also included Archos, Coby, and Sirius XM, all of whom settled in 2010, after concluding that they wouldn't be able to finance a challenge of the final verdict.
