In 2004 Steve Jobs cited the sale of more than two million iPods for its high profits that year
Apple
has been accused by lawyers in a court case of "deleting" songs from
rival services from some iPods during the past decade.
Users with non-iTunes music received a message telling them
to restore devices to their factory settings when they tried to sync
them, the court heard.
Apple said that the move was a legitimate security measure.
The competition case is examining whether Apple tried to lock down its iPod and iTunes market in 2007-09.
Apple's security director Augustin Farrugia said the
company's attempt to keep iPods clear of any non-iTunes music was done
to protect consumers from hackers and malicious content.
He added that the error message that appeared when users
tried to sync the content of an iPod to an iTunes account was vague
because the firm did not want to "confuse users" with too much
information.
Jobs video testimony
Earlier the court saw the contents of an email that then Apple
chief executive Steve Jobs sent in 2005 after learning that a rival
company was about to introduce a program that would let music fans buys
songs anywhere and play them on iPods.
"We may need to change things here," the email read.
Lawyers argue that there was an internal campaign to keep
Apple's iPods free of music that was not purchased from the iTunes
store.
By updating the iTunes and iPod software to block music from
competing online stores, Apple operated a closed system which froze
rivals out of the market, they say.
Later in the trial, jurors will hear from a Stanford
economist who will claim that Apple inflated the price of iPods by
nearly $350m.
Jurors will also see video testimony from Steve Jobs, filmed six months before he died.
The class action lawsuit, brought by individuals and businesses, is being heard in a US district court in California.
They accuse Apple of abusing a monopoly position in the
digital music player market. The case has been going on for more than a
decade and could see Apple pay out $1bn in damages.
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