Apple sues Creative again

The iPod maker has filed a new lawsuit, this time in US District Court in Texas, charging its rival with patent infringement.

This could be a legal battle Creative Technology might come to regret.

Not satisfied with its own countersuit against rival MP3 player maker Creative, Apple has dipped into its hefty legal budget and filed another lawsuit against the company, this time accusing its rival of infringing on three more patents related to its vaunted iPod portable players.

The move comes less than a month after Creative fired the opening patent salvo, accusing Apple of infringing on its "Zen Patent" that covers its device interface.

The new suit, filed in US District Court in Texas on June 1, claims Creative is infringing on three Apple patents: 1) the display of data on a computer; 2) the process of editing data using a portable device; 3) the creation of icons for organizational purposes.

Apple is seeking cash damages and a court order that forces Creative to stop using the functions that infringe on its patents.

Regardless of how the legal wars between the companies turn out, Creative has some serious catching up to do in the battle that really matters: sales. The iPod controls 77 percent of the US market, compared with less than 10 percent for Creative. In 2005, Creative sold 8 million players worldwide, compared with 32 million sold by Apple, according to market research firm iSuppli.