That’s not all! Steve Jobs is the one who is providing all the evidence against Apple Inc. But there is nothing supernatural about the case at all. It just highlights how technology has a way of sticking around even when the world moves on. This month, Apple will visit court to face a lawsuit it faces by users of the old iPod, and emails sent by Steve Jobs, when he was alive, will be brought forward as evidence to further it against Apple.
The lawsuit a good compensation of $350 million, if lost to the users of the old iPod, can be one of the biggest cases lost this year for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) The plaintiffs claim that they had been misled into assuming the iPod was there to stay in the way it did, which meant only music downloaded off the iTunes Store, and that downloaded of CD, was playable on the iPod. This resulted in them having to stay with the system and buying other music players to listen to music from other digital music stores. However, later Apple dropped the system, and allowed the newer iPods to carry music from all stores without a hitch.
The issue being brought forward is of an antitrust law being violated, and the plaintiffs argue that Apple effectively and deliberately blocked third party stores from selling music to iPod users. Using one of Steve Jobs emails as core evidence, the plaintiffs will be putting forward their case in court this December. The email is one written by Steve Jobs to one of his trusted advisors, in which Steve Jobs asks his advisor whether Music Match can be effectively blocked from selling any content to iPod users.
This is not the first time Apple is being dragged to court. The company has come under fire previously for many, alleged, instances of criminal demeanor, especially when Steve Jobs was CEO. All those who knew Steve Jobs, knew he was a driven man dedicated fully to his business. Many have alleged, over the years, that the late CEO of Apple has trampled on many business counterparts and adversaries over the years to get the level of dominance Apple currently enjoys.
However, one thing Steve Jobs refused to do was put a filter on his emails. Most, almost all, CEOs in the industry have hired people who carefully draft all their email to make them ineffective in the court of law. Unfortunately for Apple, Steve Jobs did no such thing. His emails have ideas of potential business partners to plans to drive out competition to curbing employee freedom in the job market. For example, in one email released during one of Apple’s previous lawsuits, Steve Jobs asked his advisor to figure out ways Google could be stopped in its hiring of ex-iPod workers.
Even though both the old iPod and Steve Jobs have passed on, their legacy remains. And it’s this very legacy Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will defend in court this December. If the case is lost, Apple could lose up to $350 million. However, for a company earning $8.5 billion in profits (last quarter), such an infinitesimal figure is a very small price to pay indeed.
