Apple has settled yet another patent suit, this time with a mom-and-pop shop in Vermont. Earlier this month, it settled a patent infringement suit with Singapore-based Creative for $100 million.
Patent owner David Contois of Essex Junction claimed Apple's iTunes music software infringed on a pattern he was granted in 1999 (U.S. Patent No. 5,864,868), writes Anne Broache in aCNET blog post. Contois and his family run a 35-year-old musical instrument and technology store, Contois Music Technology, which sued Apple in the U.S. District Court of Vermont in June 2005.
Contois's patent covers "a computer system and method for controlling a media playing device." The case had already progressed through various critical pre-trial hearings. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
