…And Then It Got Weird ⇥ bits.blogs.nytimes.com

That iTunes/iPod/DRM/RealPlayer/blast-from-the-past lawsuit that’s been going on seemingly since the dawn of consumer technology? Yeah, it just got weird. Brian X. Chen, New York Times:

The class action seeks damages for iPods bought from September 2006 to March 2009. Apple said it checked the serial number of Ms. Rosen’s iPod Touch and found that it was bought in July 2009, months after the class period ended.

Apple’s lawyers also said the company could not verify purchases of other iPods that Ms. Rosen said she had bought, including an iPod Nano in the fall of 2007. Apple lawyers said they had requested proof from Ms. Rosen’s lawyers of her purchases.

Apple also said it had asked the plaintiffs’ lawyers for proof of any purchases of iPods by the other plaintiff in the case, Melanie Tucker of North Carolina. Apple said it verified that an iPod Touch was purchased by Ms. Tucker in August 2010, also outside the class period. In her testimony, Ms. Tucker said she bought an iPod in April 2005.

The judge overseeing the case, Yvonne Gonzales Rogers, said she was concerned about the potential issues presented by the letter. “I am concerned that I don’t have a plaintiff,” she said. “That’s a problem.”