Apple won a DRM iTunes case

Auckland federal jury found Apple to be innocent in a lawsuit filed in 2005 accusing the company of monopolizing access to music on iPods. The essence of the lawsuit was that DRM-protection was built into iTunes 7.0, which blocked downloading music to the iPod, which made it impossible for the player to play files from other sources. The process witnessed by Philip Schiller (Apple's vice president), Eddie Q (head of iTunes) and Steve Jobs personally, threatened Apple with a $ 1 billion fine for violating antitrust laws and paying $ 350 million in favor of iPod owners who bought it from 2006 to 2009.

Until September 2006, RealNetworks successfully exploited the Harmony technology developed by it, which made it possible to transfer purchased files from RealNetwoks Rapsody online store not only to iPods, but to any portable mp3 player in general.

Apple considered such behavior of competitors unacceptable:

We are stunned that RealNetworks has adopted the hacker’s tactics and ethics to get inside iPod, and we will soon investigate the implications of their actions for legality. We also warn this company and their customers that after upgrading the iPod’s software, this technology is unlikely to work.

The released iTunes 7.0 update contained DRM protection that eliminated the ability to play music, bypassing the Apple store. In this regard, a collective lawsuit was filed against the company, which was handled by the law firm of Robin Geller, and who claimed that Apple was abusing its position in the market and setting artificial restrictions. Then, in order to testify "first-hand" to the court, Steve Jobs, who was at the hospital, was called.
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As a result, a jury of eight people yesterday admitted that the controversial iTunes update was an improvement in the product and contributed to the safety of users. Apple also sought to improve the quality of its own products, which could not be guaranteed if the iPod could play music from other stores. An important role was also played by the requirements of rights holders, whose interests in Cupertino had to be protected. Thus, Apple is recognized as innocent in causing harm to those involved in the claim and will avoid cash payments on it.