January 18, 1983: Computer manufacturer Franklin Electronic Publishers takes the wraps off its Franklin Ace 1200 computer, an unauthorized Apple II clone that triggers an important legal battle.
Cupertino will soon target Franklin’s line of unlicensed Apple clones with a lawsuit. In the resulting trial, a U.S. court will decide whether a company can protect its operating system by copyright.
September 24, 2009: Apple lawyers head to court to defend the company against rapper Eminem’s music publisher, Eight Mile Style.
The lawsuit alleges that Apple unlawfully sold 93 of Eminem’s songs on the iTunes Music Store. This is the second time Apple finds itself on the opposite side of a courtroom from the Detroit rapper. (A previous lawsuit involved improper use of Eminem’s hit single “Lose Yourself” in an iTunes ad.)
August 14, 1991: As Apple and Microsoft head to court to battle each other, the tide begins to turn against Cupertino and its claims that Windows unlawfully copies the look and feel of Mac OS.
The case concerns whether key elements of Apple’s operating system are original enough for copyright protection. The decision turns out to be a major blow against Apple — and the start of the company’s 1990s decline.
Court documents submitted Saturday indicate Apple settled a patent-infringement lawsuit related to AirPods with audio manufacturer Koss.
The company had accused the maker of AirPods and Beats earbuds and headphones of infringing on Koss wireless headphone technology patents.
Apple agreed to a preliminary settlement Monday for a class-action lawsuit that claimed the company knew the MacBook’s “butterfly” keyboard was defective but kept selling it. Apple admits no wrongdoing but agreed to pay up to $50 million, most of which will go to customers who had to replace the faulty keyboards.
This is good news for people in seven U.S. states who experienced problems with their MacBook butterfly keyboard.
Apple violates U.S. antitrust law by making sure Apple Pay is the only e-wallet way to tap to pay via an iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch, a new class-action lawsuit filed Monday alleges.
The complaint says Apple profits illegally to the tune of $1 billion a year or more by blocking competitors like Google Pay and Samsung Pay from offering tap-to-pay transactions on Apple devices.
July 16, 2014: Apple agrees to pay $450 million to resolve the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against the company over e-book pricing in the iBooks Store.
Cupertino stood accused of conspiring with five major book publishers to fix e-book prices. The five publishers all settled their claims outside of court, leaving only Apple to go to trial.
June 13, 2013: Eddy Cue takes the stand to defend Apple’s iBooks business strategy in an antitrust case against Cupertino regarding e-book pricing.
Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of internet software and services, is the Apple exec in charge of the iBooks Store initiative. His testimony proves vital to a case brought by the Department of Justice, in which potential damages climb well into the nine figures.
Apple filed a lawsuit Friday against a “stealth mode” startup known as Rivos, saying it poached engineers who stole proprietary information as part of the recruitment process.
Cupertino said Rivos plans to design chips that will compete with its own — and starting with Apple’s own technology.
March 30, 2006: A court case begins that once again pits Apple Computer against Apple Corps, aka The Beatles’ record label and holding company.
The lawsuit caps a long-running legal battle between the two wealthy companies. It’s the final fight in an epic legal battle over music, technology and money.
