by , 11:45 AM EST, January 6th, 2006

Apple Computer is taking Burst to court over a patent dispute involving technologies it uses in iTunes, QuickTime, the iTunes Music Store, and the iPod. The two companies had been negotiating over claims that Apple was violating Burst's patents with it's multimedia products. Negotiations eventually broke down, and Apple is now taking Burst to court claiming that the patents are invalid.

Burst previously settled a lawsuit against Microsoft for similar claims, gaining a lump sum of US$60 million from Microsoft in the process. It is currently in licensing discussions with several other companies.