Apple Sued for Alleged Patent Violation

Updated from 5:59 p.m. EDT

Creative Technology's (CREAF Quote) MP3 players haven't done well in the marketplace compared with Apple's (AAPL Quote) iPods.

Now Creative is calling foul.

The Singapore-based company has sued Apple in federal court and filed a complaint against the iPod maker with the U.S. International Trade Commission.

The actions charge Apple with violating Creative's patent on a user interface used to navigate and access songs stored on an MP3 player. Charging Apple with willful infringement of the patent, Creative is seeking to bar Apple from being able to sell its higher-end iPod models and an unspecified amount of monetary damages.

"The iPods, iPod nanos and iPod minis sold by [Apple] are specifically configured to access and display music loaded by the user in ways that infringe [our] patent," Creative said in the complaint it filed Monday with the U.S. District Court for Northern California.

Apple "knows or should know that those players have no substantial non-infringing uses. [Apple] engages in those acts despite its actual notice and knowledge of [our] patent," it said.

A Creative representative declined to comment on the complaints. An Apple representative did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment on them.

Creative was one of the early entrants in the MP3 player market. The company found initial success in its Nomad Jukebox line, which it introduced at the beginning of this decade.

Apple launched its iPod line about a year later. According to the trade commission's complaint, Apple entered the market only after initially exploring a partnership with Creative.

Through the two companies' discussions, Creative showed Apple its now-patented MP3 player interface.

The U.S. Patent Office issued Creative patent No. 6,928,433 last August. Creative originally applied for the patent in January 2001.