Apple finally wins 'long-running' 1 bln dollar anti-trust class action suit

A jury in California has found Apple not guilty of engaging in anti-competitive behavior as alleged by consumers.

The focus of the long-running lawsuit was Apple's 2006 update to its iTunes software which meant that only iPod users could purchase music from the store, reported the BBC.

Lawyers representing consumers and electronic retailers argued that the tech giant used its iTunes software to persuade consumers to buy iPods instead of rival devices between 2006 and 2009. The move shut out other devices artificially and caused the price of iPods to rise, they said.

Consumers alleged that the move violated U.S. antitrust laws and claimed 350 million dollars in damages.

The lawyers used emails from Apple founder Steve Jobs to back the argument.

The class action suit represented nearly eight million iPod customers and 500 resellers, and could have cost Apple as much as 1 billion dollars as anti-competition damage rewards are automatically tripled under US law.