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Jurors to Hear Steve Jobs Testimony at Apple Trial

After nearly a decade in legal wrangling, a billion-dollar class-action lawsuit over Apple's iPod music players heads to trial on Tuesday.
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After nearly a decade in legal wrangling, a billion-dollar class-action lawsuit over Apple's iPod music players heads to trial on Tuesday in a California federal court. A key witness will be none other than the company's legendary late founder Steve Jobs, who will be heard in a videotaped deposition. Attorneys for consumers and electronics retailers claim Apple Inc. used software in its iTunes store that forced would-be song buyers to use iPods instead of cheaper music players made by rivals. The software is no longer used, but the plaintiffs argue that it inflated the prices of millions of iPods sold between 2006 and 2009 — to the tune of $350 million. Under federal antitrust law, the tech giant could be ordered to pay three times that amount if the jury agrees with the estimate and finds the damages resulted from anti-competitive behavior. "The fact that this case is still going 10 years later is a sign that technology often outpaces law," said Mark Lemley, a Stanford law professor. Attorneys are set to make opening statements Tuesday morning in the Oakland, California courtroom of U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.

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--- Associated Press