Reluctantly taking the stand, an ex-Apple engineer testified on Friday that he worked on a project meant to shut competitors out of iTunes.
Rod Schultz s testimony came at the tail-end of a two-week trial in Oakland federal court over Apple s dominance of digital music. Plaintiffs subpoenaed Schultz, who reported to court in an untucked dress shirt and a leather jacket, according to the Wall Street Journal. Schultz readily admitted that he had not wanted to talk about his work at Apple, a portion of which was code-named Candy.
He testified that the project was meant to block 100% of non-iTunes clients and keep out third-party players, according to the Wall Street Journal, echoing plaintiffs key argument in the long-running case. Plaintiffs argue that Apple repeatedly updated iTunes solely to drive out competitors, orchestrating a monopoly that enabled it to sell iPods at inflated prices. Plaintiffs seek $350 million in damages, which could be tripled under antitrust laws.
But Schultz agreed with Apple that that the software updates delivered several improvements — one of the company s key rebuttals to the plaintiffs claims.
After a rough-and-tumble trial that included an eleventh-hour search for a plaintiff, the antitrust case will soon be handed to a federal jury. Both sides will deliver their closing arguments later today.
Above: Apple is ensnared in a trial that dates back to the iPod s heyday (Simon Dawson, Bloomberg/Getty Images).
