Thursday, February 09, 2006

Judge James Ware of the U.S. District Court of Northern California, has found the plaintiff, Thomas Slattery, as having "met all requirements for asserting [Apple's iTunes + iPod] tying claim... noting that the complaint alleges Apple has an 80 percent share of the market for legal digital music files and more than 90 percent of the market for portable hard-drive digital music players." Moreover, Judge Ware has given the green light to Slattery to proceed with his monopolization claim under the federal Sherman Antitrust Act.

Judge Ware specifically rejected Apple's argument that tying doesn't apply since consumers can buy iTunes music for playback on their computers without having to own an iPod.