2007 will be the year that Apple faces legal music

ENTERTAINMENT gear maker Apple has failed to get an antitrust suit against it chucked out of court and will face an expensive monopoly law suit in the coming year.

According to Associated Press, the case, filed on July 21, is over Apple's use of a copy protection system that prevents iTunes music and video from playing on rival players. It also claims that Apple's iPods will not play songs bought elsewhere easily.

But it looks like that will not be the only court case that Apple will be facing in 2007.

Another class auction, filed on November 7, claims that the logic board of Apple's iBook G4 fails at an abnormally high rate.

Another case on the books is between Apple and PhatRat Technology which claims that Apple nicked its idea when it started the Nike-iPod product which allow runners to keep track of how far and how fast they've gone.

If that were not enough, Apple is facing a securities lawsuit accusing the outfit, its CEO Steve Jobs and some of its former officers of improperly backdating stock-option grants, failing to properly account for them and making false financial statements.

More here. µ