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Apple DRM Lawsuit Might Be Dismissed: Plaintiffs Didn't Own Affected iPods

UnknowingFool writes The lawsuit involving Apple and iTunes DRM may be thrown out because the plaintiffs did not own the iPods for which they are suing. The lawsuit covers iPods for the time period between September of 2006 and March of 2009. When Apple checked the serial numbers of the iPods of the plaintiffs, it appears they were not manufactured during this time. One plaintiff did purchase an iPod in 2005 and in 2010 and has withdrawn from the suit. The second plaintiff's iPod was manufactured in July 2009 but claims purchasing another iPod in 2008. Since the two plaintiffs were the only ones in the suit, the case may be dismissed for lack of standing.

24 of 141 comments (clear)

  1. Lawyers not doing their homework by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I guess the thrill of big fees in a class-action suit made them forget to do some elementary checking.

    --
    "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    1. Re:Lawyers not doing their homework by Spy+Handler · · Score: 4, Funny

      no it was Steve Jobs reality distortion field that made the plaintiffs think they bought an ipod when they didn't.

  2. Not unexpected. by pushing-robot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've observed that flaws in Apple products seem to most affect those who do not use Apple products.

    --
    How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
    1. Re:Not unexpected. by jbolden · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I've observed that flaws in Apple products seem to most affect those who do not use Apple products.

      Well said. There are criticisms of Apple products by Apple users. But they have a level of nuance that's appropriate. The Apple haters who know nothing of Apple products yet thing they do, you end up having to argue with all the time. I've noticed the same thing about Oracle on /. as well whenever databases come up.

    2. Re: Not unexpected. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Do you have down's syndrome? You insert the CD, select the songs, then select import CD. I've seen 4 year olds do it.

    3. Re: Not unexpected. by uglyduckling · · Score: 2

      If the DVD drive broke right away, why didn't you take it back for a warranty replacement? And if you did, what's the problem? And if you need help with the trivial actions required to enable Trim let me know.

    4. Re:Not unexpected. by peragrin · · Score: 5, Informative

      Apple supports hardware for 1 year standard warranty. No extra money spent. Heck I got apple to replace a logic board for free without an extended warranty. 2 .7 years after I bought it.

      Not getting your drive fixed is your fault not Apples

      Same goes for the hard drive. Apple would have replaced it for you.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    5. Re:Not unexpected. by UnknowingFool · · Score: 5, Informative

      Apple replaced my HDD 5 years after warranty expired on my Mac because there was a bad batch of HDDs. They did the same with the nVidia failures that affected many OEMs.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    6. Re: Not unexpected. by Noah+Haders · · Score: 2

      what I hate most about those new lightning ports on the iphone is that my CDs don't fit in them.

    7. Re:Not unexpected. by jbolden · · Score: 2

      Yep. You'll see the people who need Oracle's features say positive things about it. People who have to admin hundreds of databases, or very large tables or need to tweak queries. I've definitely seen the Oracle users stand up for Oracle. I've seen the "I could easily run this on MySQL but I have to use Oracle" crowd say bad stuff as well though.

    8. Re:Not unexpected. by chipschap · · Score: 2

      I'm neither an Apple nor a Microsoft user. There is no need for me to criticize either of them (especially from a standpoint of a non-user with limited knowledge). I just ignore them and go on my own way. I'll leave the complaining to people who actually use their products.

      On the other hand, I can see complaints from non-users on the basis of compatibility. I do get tired of people saying "send me a Word document" and the like, but they just get whatever LibreOffice puts out and that will have to do. It generally becomes a non-issue. (I don't deal often with complex formats that use every feature on the menu.)

    9. Re:Not unexpected. by scotts13 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Ultimately, I value my time enough that I will generally not purchase things I think will break and require fixing or taking to a repair shop. I'll spend extra on a dependable product. Apple computers have shown to not be dependable, despite being more expensive...

      Yeah, factually untrue. Industry statistics show Apple products to be consistently the most dependable you can buy. If that's not good enough to meet your standards for reliability, what does?

    10. Re:Not unexpected. by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Apple replaced my HDD 5 years after warranty expired on my Mac because there was a bad batch of HDDs. They did the same with the nVidia failures that affected many OEMs.

      Apple told all owners of the Revision 1 B&W G3 Power Macintosh (ye olde bondi blue desktop) that if they experienced data corruption with ATA disks, that they had two choices. They could degrade performance by switching their disk to PIO mode with the $70 FWB toolkit, or they could buy a $99 ATA card ($20 for the same card with PC roms) and move their devices to the new controller. Rather than offer a simple software patch (let alone a logic board replacement, which was the appropriate remedy) you actually had to spend money because Apple screwed up. When they folded the Techinfo Library into the Knowledge Base, they managed to incorporate articles both older and newer than the one in which they gave this advice, but they went ahead and just dropped that one in an attempt to hide their poor customer support.

      It's nice that you had better luck. Lots of other people have. But Apple has also acted completely unacceptably in the past, not just the B&W G3 but also the Cube, leaking G5s, flaky Macintosh Portables with shaky compatibility way way back in the day... Lots of this stuff just went unacknowledged or, once acknowleged, went unremedied.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    11. Re:Not unexpected. by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 4, Informative

      The nvidia failures were due to the chip solder points coming loose. It has zilch to do with the chip and everything to do with the manufacturing of the system

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
    12. Re:Not unexpected. by schnell · · Score: 3, Informative

      I'll spend extra on a dependable product. Apple computers have shown to not be dependable

      Perhaps not in your experience. For other people, including me, the opposite has shown to be true.

      But you know what? Everyone has their own version of the plural of anecdote being data, so we will all work from our own individual experiences and be justified in doing so. But I wouldn't be so certain about identifying macro trends in your personal experience here.

      --
      "95% of all Slashdot .sig quotes are incorrect or completely fabricated." -Benjamin Franklin
    13. Re:Not unexpected. by Solandri · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yeah, factually untrue. Industry statistics show Apple products to be consistently the most dependable you can buy.

      That's a myth. It's only true if you rely on subjective surveys which are vulnerable to self-bias. Owners of Apple products basically like to believe their products are more reliable, so report them as such. Same reason BMW and Mercedes owners rate their vehicles so highly, when the repair rates show them to be average or below average in dependability.

      If you use objective data like extended warranty insurance claim rates or repair rates at a computer repair shop, while Apple is top tier, they are hardly the best. (Their repair rates are probably biased low too, because a larger percentage of Mac owners first think to take their Macbook to an Apple store, rather than a generic computer repair store.)

      http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliability_1109.pdf
      http://www.rescuecom.com/news-press-releases/computer-reliability-report-2014-q3.aspx
      http://www.rescuecom.com/news-press-releases/computer-reliability-report-2014-q2.aspx
      http://www.rescuecom.com/news-press-releases/computer-reliability-report-2014.aspx
      http://www.rescuecom.com/news-press-releases/computer-reliability-report-2013-q3.aspx
      http://www.rescuecom.com/news-press-releases/computer-reliability-report-2013-q2.aspx
      http://www.rescuecom.com/news-press-releases/computer-reliability-report-2013-q1.aspx
      http://www.rescuecom.com/news-press-releases/computer-reliability-report-2012-q3.aspx
      http://www.rescuecom.com/news-press-releases/computer-reliability-report-2012-q2.aspx
      http://www.rescuecom.com/news-press-releases/computer-reliability-report-2012.aspx

      And if you don't yet know, Apple doesn't make the Macbooks. They're made by Quanta. Quanta is an ODM - original design manufacturer. Like an OEM except they also design the product. Quanta also happens to make most of HP's laptops. The vast majority of laptops sold are made by ODMs, not the brand names you see on the box. While the brand name exhibits some executive control over acceptable quality control criteria, it's really the ODM which determines build quality.

    14. Re:Not unexpected. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

      The nvidia failures were due to the chip solder points coming loose. It has zilch to do with the chip and everything to do with the manufacturing of the system

      IIRC, Actually, there were two separate NVIDIA GPU issues. One had to do with bad soldering (or bad board-prep) by the contract manufacturer (but essentially Apple's responsibility, which is why Apple extended warranty repair/replacement for those units); but the other involved die-bonding INSIDE the GPU, which was clearly NOT Apple's fault (and which affected other computer brands, as well). Apple extended warranty repair for those units, too.

      So, what was your point, again?

    15. Re: Not unexpected. by uglyduckling · · Score: 3, Informative

      You're describing the same thing twice, but just writing out the other obvious and necessary (and a few spurious) steps to completing the task. You forgot "open your eyes", "pay the electricity bill", "wear pants", "open the door to the room where your PC is kept" and a thousand and one other steps that really don't need mentioning.

  3. Re:Lawyers by UnknowingFool · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I found it a bit curious that one of iPods presented (the 2008 one) was not purchased by the plaintiff but the plaintiff's former husband's law firm. I don't know if it is the same law firm in the case but it wouldn't surprise me.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  4. The best by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Way to sink your case is to lie.

    If your hatred of Apple is so white hot,

    If your hatred of Apple gets you foaming so bad at the mouth,

    that you would lie, that it is okay to do

    the fault's not with Apple

    The fault lies with you

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    1. Re:The best by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 4, Funny

      Burma Shave.

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  5. Re:Apple's admission of guilt by UnknowingFool · · Score: 2

    That's not how I read Apple's "admissions" at all. Apple countered Real's Helix format when it tried to trick iTunes into thinking they were FairPlay files.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  6. Re:Apple's admission of guilt by Cheviot · · Score: 5, Informative

    Apple only removed non-Apple, emulated Fairplay DRM encoded music from iPods. Any music you actually ripped from CDs, downloaded from the internet or got from friends were completely and totally unaffected. Only music files that used a hack to make them appear to be protected by Apple's Fairplay DRM were removed.

  7. Re:Apple's admission of guilt by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 5, Informative

    That's a bit out of context... Apple threw up an error message when it detected the music DB had been messed with, and then restored the iPod contents from what was stored in iTunes. All Apple was testing for was that things had been messed with. If the rival music services (read: Real) had properly reverse engineered the sync process, there would have been no problem. Also, if they hadn't included DRM on their music and had pushed it through a regular iTunes sync, there wouldn't have been a problem. The only problem was when Real was attempting to sync their hacked-up version of FairPlay-DRM'd audio through their hacked-up version of an iTunes sync session to the iPod DB. If they got it wrong, everything was reset.

    Real got bitten again by embracing PlaysForSure, which eventually stopped being supported by MS altogether (you can't actually PLAY stuff encrypted with PlaysForSure anymore).

    Of course, Apple made it slightly more difficult by changing the sync protocl part way through this, which indicates they were putting up a token effort to prevent people doing an end-run around the sync process and the FairPlay DRM.

    The real losers here were people running Linux who wanted to use an iPod -- same thing happened there. But that group wouldn't be as useful in a class action suit -- plus, the number of people affected is significantly smaller.