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Apple Fails in Patenting IPod Technology

Microsoft Beats Rival to Punch in Filing Similar Application on MP3 Software.

Apple Computer Inc., whose iPods are the top-selling music player in the United States, lost an attempt to patent some of the device's technology because rival Microsoft Corp. had already filed a similar application.

Microsoft beat Apple to the patent application by five months, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office documents show. Apple's request, filed by chief executive Steve Jobs and other officials in October 2002, was rejected by patent officials last month.

The iPod accounts for 75 percent of all MP3 players sold in the United States, according to NPD Group Inc. in Port Washington, N.Y. Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple has shipped 21.8 million iPods since Jobs introduced the player in October 2001, with 18.1 million units sold in the past four quarters alone.

Apple's application, filed a year after the iPod was introduced, was rejected July 13. The documents do not identify the iPod by name, a common omission in such petitions.

Microsoft's application was rejected in December 2004, patent office records show.

If the patent is rejected again, Apple can take its case to the federal courts, which have the power to overturn the patent office's rejection.

The iPod already faces competition from Microsoft-powered music players. Microsoft said this week it is working with electronics makers to design new devices for release in the end-of-year shopping season.

Resource: WashingtonPost Buy a iPod Here

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