Creative gets creative

Filed in archive Apple , Legal , MP3 Players on May 18, 2006

If you can't compete, sue.

Creative Technology Ltd. sued Apple Computer for patent infringement with the U.S. International Trade Commission. Both Creative and Apple manufacture mp3 players. Creative receive a patent on music navigation. Creative has only about 3% of the mp3 player market, while Apple claims almost 80%.

From the article:

"According to the trade complaint, Creative was granted the so-called Zen patent in August 2005 after applying for it in January 2001. The company unveiled the navigation system in a prototype mobile music player called the NOMAD Jukebox in January 2000 and has since used it in its NOMAD and Zen products.

In early 2001, representatives of Apple and Creative, including Apple CEO Steve Jobs, met to discuss ways they could work together, the complaint stated. Apple requested to license Creative's technology and also suggested it could invest in a potential spinoff of Creative's music player business, but Creative declined both proposals, according to Creative's complaint."