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Creative Takes a Bite off Apple with $100M Settlement
Creative Technology, Ltd. and Apple Computer, Inc. have settled their patent differences with Apple paying $100M to license Creative’s U.S. Patent No. 6,928,433. The patent relates to user interfaces for digital music players. Creative received its patent for the “automatic hierarchical categorization of music by metadata” in August, 2005 from an application filed in January, 2001. The interface permits a user to navigate through a hierarchy using three or more successive screens on the display of a player to select at least one track.
Creative began using the interface in its own digital music players (e.g. Nomad Jukebox MP3) as early as September 2000 more than a year before Apple’s iPod announcement. The settlement also terminates Apple’s countersuit. Additional terms see Creative join Apple’s “Made for iPod” program as an authorized seller of iPod accessories. Apple can recoup a portion of the payment if Creative successfully licenses others. The $100M settlement may be contrasted with Apple’s $1.5B in revenue for iPod sales just in the last quarter.
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