Creative Blackmails Apple for 100 Million (WizbangTech)

I like creative but I'll never buy another of their products again.

Apple to pay $100 mln to Creative in settlement

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc. said on Wednesday it will pay $100 million to Creative Technology Ltd. to settle all patent litigation over Apple's popular iPod music player.
...
Steve Jobs said the agreement ends five lawsuits between the companies "and removes the uncertainty and distraction of prolonged litigation."

"Creative is very fortunate to have been granted this early patent," Jobs added. Creative, the world's second-largest maker of MP3 music players, sued Apple in May alleging the Cupertino, California-based computer maker had infringed a patent on its "Zen" player.

Jobs has a wicked sense of humor. It was an "early patent" awarded about 3 years after the iPod started shipping.

Jobs doesn't care, he just wants to pay the blackmail and go on. I guess business wise Creative did the right thing but it's still crappy that they are using the SCO businessplan.

This is another example of how screwed our patent system is.

Related: Another iPod killer bites the dust.

Comments (2)

With so much cash in the ba... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by Rube | August 25, 2006 4:34 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Rube:

With so much cash in the bank, paying up is probably Apple's best business move. They're smart enough to use this settlement to close the door on future litigation.

I disagree that it's a smart business move on Creative's part, though. When you piss off the guy with a stranglehold on a market, you can pretty much forget penetrating that market. Creative won't be licensing iPod- or iTMS-compatible technology for their players anytime soon; which will pretty much put them out of the MP3-player market permanently.