The higher the climb,
the harder the fall

An Atlanta-based firm called ZapMedia is suing Apple for patent violation, reports The Associated Press.

ZapMedia says Apple is illegally using its intellectual property in the iTunes/iPod combination. It holds patents relating to music distribution over the internet and playback on multiple portable devices.

ZapMedia applied for the patents in 1999. One was approved in 2006; the other was approved on Tuesday. Apple was contacted to discuss licensing with ZapMedia, but the parent company of the #2 US music retailer opted to pass on the offer.

"When someone takes our vision and our intellectual property without a license after several attempts, we have no option but to protect it through every means available to us," ZapMedia stated. Apple declined to comment.

At stake is a portion of the profit Apple has made from sales of iPods and music through iTunes. ZapMedia is seeking royalties for what it calls the use of its technology.

Following its runaway success with the BlackBerry, Research in Motion (RIM) was also sued for patent violation by a company called NTP. The suit was settled for $612 million in March 2006, after which NTP graciously granted RIM the right to keep selling BlackBerries, according to CNN.