Apple Wins Antitrust Lawsuit Regarding Allegedly Deleted iPod Songs

A class action antitrust lawsuit alleged that between 2006 and 2009, Apple intentionally deleted songs purchased through rival services from its users’ iPods without informing them. The plaintiffs of the case were seeking $350 million in damages, contending that they were subsequently forced to pay more for Apple’s services. Now, a jury has ruled in Apple’s favor, as The New York Times reports. 

The lawsuit ran into a speed bump when it was revealed that two of the original plaintiffs named in the suit had never purchased iPods during the time period when Apple was said to have deleted the songs. A new plaintiff, Barbara Bennett, was named just hours before the suit was handed to a jury on Monday, though she wasn’t given the time to testify, as the Times reports.

According to the Times, Apple’s lawyers emphasized that the plaintiffs’ side was unable to find any customers who were harmed by the iPod policy. The jury also concluded that Apple’s software updates offered real benefits, and weren’t designed to block songs from competing services. 

“We created iPod and iTunes to give our customers the world’s best way to listen to music,” an Apple spokeswoman said in a statement. “Every time we’ve updated those products — and every Apple product over the years — we’ve done it to make the user experience even better.”

The lawsuit began a decade ago, though it didn’t go to trial in a federal court until Monday. A plaintiff lawyer said they are planning on an appeal.

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