On Wednesday, ZapMedia Services filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Apple. But that moment it’s not by the iPhone. The Atlanta-based company alleges Apple’s iTunes Store and iPod music players infringe on its patented methods for distributing digital media by the World Wide Web.

ZapMedia Services sued Apple in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, a venue known for its friendly stance toward plaintiffs. ZapMedia Services claims the lawsuit comes after multiple attempts to resolve its concerns with Apple by infringement of ZapMedia Services’ patents.

“The complaint alleges that ZapMedia Services’ property is being exploited in a manner which is illegal, and by law ZapMedia Services is therefore entitled to a fair royalty on Apple’s revenues related to the infringement,” said Steven G. Hill, of Hill, Kertscher & Wharton, LLP, ZapMedia lead litigation counsel.

Two Patents Granted

Here’s the story as ZapMedia Services tells it: Beginning in the late 1990s, ZapMedia, the predecessor of ZapMedia Services,

created a digital media platform. As part of its strategy, ZapMedia developed a system by which it could supply hardware, software and substance to consumers to allow them to gain control by their digital media assets.

In 1999, ZapMedia applied for two patents, each of which is entitled “System and method for distributing media assets to user devices via a portal synchronized by said user devices.” One of the patents was granted in March 2006. The other was granted Tuesday.

In the course of its efforts, ZapMedia Services said it met with many major technology and media companies around the globe, including Apple, to describe its vision in great detail. Without asking ZapMedia Services for permission, the company claimed, Apple unveiled its own system. Apple announced its iPod MP3 player with an integrated iTunes software application in October 2001 and its iTunes Store in April 2003.

ZapMedia Services said it…

Orginal post by Top Tech News