Apple Sues Maker Of iPod Accessories

Apple has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop Atico International USA from selling unauthorized iPod accessories.

[nms:ipod,1,2,55]

In court documents filed on Wednesday in Delaware — where Atico is incorporated — Apple accuses the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company of patent infringement, trademark infringement, and unfair competition.

“Atico manufactures and distributes various iPod accessories branded under the name ‘Living Solutions,’ which are sold online and nationwide in stores in Delaware and elsewhere, such as Walgreen’s and Happy Harry’s drug stores,” the complaint says. These accessories include an AM/FM portable boom box with iPod dock, an AM/FM alarm clock radio with iPod dock, and portable speakers with an iPod dock.

Apple claims that Atico’s iPod products are not licensed or authorized.

Atico did not return a call seeking comment.

Apple offers a program to manufacture and distribute iPod accessories called Made for iPod. An Apple spokesperson said that the company does not disclose the terms of its Made for iPod program publicly.

After the program was introduced in early 2005, CNET reported that Apple was asking for a royalty of 10%, based on the licensed items’ wholesale price. Subsequent reports indicate that Apple shifted to a $4 per unit flat fee in 2006.

Apple sold more than 10 million iPods during the quarter than ended on March 29, 2008, which represents 1% unit growth from the same quarter in 2007. The company has sold about 150 million iPods worldwide, based on numbers reported by Apple (110 million through September 2007, 22.1 million in the last quarter of that year, 10.6 million in the first quarter of 2008) and the several million presumed sold in April and May.

Source
[ama:ipod,1,new]