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Beatles Drag Apple to Court Again
Techtree News Staff, Mar 28, 2006 1514 hrs ISTApple Records owned by the Beatles is up against Apple Computer in an ongoing legal battle over content rights.
For the third time running - Apple Records owned by the Beatles is up against Steve Jobs' Apple Computer in an ongoing legal battle over content rights.
Apple Corps was set up, and is owned by the Beatles and their heirs; Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and George Harrison's widow Olivia. Apple Records is a subsidiary of Apple Corps, which still controls the licensing of Beatles' songs.
The first showdown between the two companies took place in 1981 when Apple Corps sued Apple Computer only to settle for an amount of $80,000, along with a promise from the latter that it would not enter the music business again.
However in 1989 Apple Computer produced its music-creation software and was once again dragged to court by Apple Corps, which managed to eke out an amount of $26m from the iTunes creator.
This time around - Apple Corps is alleging that the creation of Apple Computer's iTunes software breaks the terms of the 1989 settlement between the two companies.
As per the terms of this agreement, Apple Corps has rights over creative works wherein the content is mainly music, while Apple Computer is allowed to reproduce, run, play or deliver such content.
In its defense, Apple Computer says that its iTunes service is simply a system of data transmission.
It is believed that the deciding factor in this case might turn out to be a clause in the previous agreement, which states that Apple Computer is not allowed to distribute content on physical media - which originally meant tapes and CDs, and may not apply to MP3 music files.
The case will be heard in London by Justice Edward Mann.
Apple Computer has been very much in the news lately - what with the French government proposing a bill that will force the company to make songs downloaded using its iTunes software playable on all MP3 players.
Apple Corps was set up, and is owned by the Beatles and their heirs; Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and George Harrison's widow Olivia. Apple Records is a subsidiary of Apple Corps, which still controls the licensing of Beatles' songs.
The first showdown between the two companies took place in 1981 when Apple Corps sued Apple Computer only to settle for an amount of $80,000, along with a promise from the latter that it would not enter the music business again.
However in 1989 Apple Computer produced its music-creation software and was once again dragged to court by Apple Corps, which managed to eke out an amount of $26m from the iTunes creator.
This time around - Apple Corps is alleging that the creation of Apple Computer's iTunes software breaks the terms of the 1989 settlement between the two companies.
As per the terms of this agreement, Apple Corps has rights over creative works wherein the content is mainly music, while Apple Computer is allowed to reproduce, run, play or deliver such content.
In its defense, Apple Computer says that its iTunes service is simply a system of data transmission.
It is believed that the deciding factor in this case might turn out to be a clause in the previous agreement, which states that Apple Computer is not allowed to distribute content on physical media - which originally meant tapes and CDs, and may not apply to MP3 music files.
The case will be heard in London by Justice Edward Mann.
Apple Computer has been very much in the news lately - what with the French government proposing a bill that will force the company to make songs downloaded using its iTunes software playable on all MP3 players.
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