Apple Ordered to Pay $3.3 Million in Japanese Lawsuit Over iPod Click Wheel Patent
Apple has been hit with a judgment for ¥330 million ($3.3 million) in a Japanese court case over infringement of a patent by the company's click wheel system used on a number of past iPod models and the current iPod classic, reports Dow Jones Business News.
The Tokyo District Court on Thursday ordered Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) to pay Y330 million in damages to Japanese inventor Norihiko Saito in a patent infringement case involving the U.S. firm's iPod music player, Kyodo News reported.
The patent that Mr. Saito's company applied for in 1998 covers a technology for the Click Wheel controller that Apple has adopted for the music player in Japan since 2004, Presiding Judge Teruhisa Takano said in the ruling.

Saito had filed an injunction request against Apple back in 2007, and as settlement negotiations failed to result in any agreement, he eventually increased his damages request to ¥10 billion ($101 million). The court ruled, however, that Apple's infringement warranted the much smaller judgment.
Popular Stories
Apple today announced a new subscription initiative that turns paid iCloud+ subscriptions into a broader services bundle in more than 100 countries.
In select countries, Apple says every paid iCloud+ plan, including the cheapest 50GB tier, now includes Apple TV and Apple Arcade "at no additional cost," while family sharing extends the storage, TV and Arcade access to up to five people....
Apple released iOS 27 this week, and despite the company's focus this year on refining its flagship operating system and nixing bugs, there are still many additional features to explore, not least of which is Apple's new context-aware Siri, re-tooled for the generative AI era.
Which iPhones Support Every iOS 27 Feature?
This year's major iPhone software update isn't all about AI, though,...
Update — 10 a.m. Pacific Time: Apple has released iOS 27.
During its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo event last week, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released widely on Monday, September 14.
iOS 27 should be available around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time today via the Settings app, under General → Software Update.
Below, we have highlighted eight new features and...