Apple has been slapped with two very different lawsuits, alleging sharp practices in both the iPhone and on iTunes . The first case revolves around claims made about the iPhone's battery life; the second centres on Apple's right to sell songs by rapper Eminem - Apple says it has the rights, Eminem says it doesn't.
Of the two, it's the iPhone battery case that is less likely to stand up to a judge's scrutiny. Jose Trujillo has brought a class action lawsuit against Apple because he says the iPhone has a soldered-in battery, and that it will have to be replaced after 300 charge cycles - or within a year of normal operation. He alleges that since Apple never made this information public, the product has been mis-sold. Apple charges $79 (£38) for replacement iPhone batteries.
What Trujillo fails to appreciate is that 1) a charge cycle is a full and then a full discharge of the battery - most people keep their phones topped up with incremental charges; 2) Apple says the battery will retain 80 per cent of its battery life after 400 complete discharge / recharge cycles; and 3) that Apple made the information public long before the iPhone actually went on sale.
Eminem and iTunes
The second lawsuit concerns an alleged infringement of copyright by Apple on its iTunes Store. Eminem's lawyers say that Apple has no right to sell the rapper's songs through the store, but Apple has steadfastly refused to remove them.
This is because Apple believes it has the rights to sell the songs as part of its deal with the Universal Music record label.
However the lawsuit may on hinge on whether or not Eminem has given permission to Universal Music to allow his songs to be sold online - or if Universal actually needs to ask his permission in the first place.
It's also unlikely to be the only time that an artist will sue over the right to sell songs online, says the Detroit Times . Record companies often don't ask permission from their artists when they do deals - and the iTunes Store isn't the only online music store that is likely to be affected.
Eminem, of course, has successfully sued Apple before - last time for the illegal use of one of his tracks for an iPod advert.
