Taiwanese MP3 maker charges Apple again with illegal monopoly

Tenacious Taiwanese MP3 player company Luxpro has yet again engaged in litigation with Apple over its Super Tangent (nee Super Shuffle) MP3 player.

In 2005, Luxpro debuted an MP3 device called the "Super Shuffle," a screenless media player that looked nearly identical to Apple's First Generation iPod Shuffle. Apple won an injunction against the device for its use of "shuffle" in the name.

The Taiwanese company changed the name of the device to the "Super Tangent" and proceeded to sell its product, despite numerous cease and desist orders from Cupertino. Apple sued for, and won, a preliminary injunction on all of Luxpro's products in Taiwan.

Luxpro appealed this suit and eventually won, but then sued Apple for $100 million, alleging engagement in unfair trade practices.

Now, Apple has been sued by Luxpro yet again, this time in the Western district of Arkansas. The Taiwanese company claims that Apple's attempts to "squash the success Luxpro had achieved through lawful efforts to compete in the worldwide MP3 player market."

The company said that Apple's lawsuits prevented Luxpro from marketing, manufacturing and advertising its products, for improperly obtaining an injunction that forced Luxpro to break contracts and orders, and for causing the deterioration of its relationships with materials vendors.

Its complaint, filed last Tuesday, reads, "Apple furthered its unending aspiration to monopolize the worldwide MP3 player market by preventing fair competition from smaller MP3 player manufacturers like Luxpro."

Luxpro says it was intentionally targeted by Apple who "realized its strongest threat in the MP3 player market included mid-range and small-range manufacturers," and sought to "conquer smaller competitors such as Luxpro to prevent an increased market share among the smaller-ranged manufacturers."