In another round in the fight between rival media-player manufacturers, Apple has filed lawsuit against Creative for patent infringement.
According to Reuters, the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Texas, charges Creative with infringing on Apple patents that pertain to how data  is displayed on a computer monitor -- for editing information on media players and for generating icons to help organize data on a computer.
Apple is seeking damages and a court order to prevent further infringement, according to Reuters.
Fight Club
The fight started last month when Singapore-based Creative first filed a lawsuit against Apple in U.S. District Court in California, claiming Apple had infringed on Creative's patents.
Creative's claims rest on a patent, applied for in 2001, that covers navigational menu technology used for locating and playing music on its Zen and Nomad music players. The U.S. Patent Office approved Creative's patent in August 2005.
In addition to the initial lawsuit, Creative filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission to request a formal investigation.
Creative's lawsuit and Trade Commission complaint were followed immediately by a countersuit from Apple, and the new lawsuit, filed last Thursday.
"Creative proactively held discussions with Apple in our efforts to explore amicable solutions," said Peter O'Shaughnessy, a spokesperson for Creative. "We had fully anticipated and planned for retaliatory action, and had allocated the appropriate resources to defend against Apple's lawsuits while vigorously protecting Creative's intellectual property rights."
Apple said it would not comment on pending litigation.
Consumers Lose
Jason Schultz, an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and not involved in the case, pointed out there are generally two types of patent suits -- one to generate money and the other to stop competition.
In the current battle, he said, it is unclear which of the two motivations are primary. Regardless, he said, consumers will be the victims.
"If the suits are about money, then it could raise the cost of products for consumers," Schultz said. "Instead of these companies raising the cost of production for research and development, Apple and Creative invest in lawyers. Consumers don't benefit from lawyers."
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