iPod Antitrust Case Now Lacks Plaintiffs, Trial to Continue Anyways

The US judge presiding over the iPod antitrust class-action lawsuit dismissed the last plaintiff on Monday, but also ruled that the trial can continue while lawyers continue to find the final ingredient for the case: a suitable plaintiff (via Mercury News).

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Actually, the potential of finding a replacement is very high since the lawyers estimate that about 8 million iPod owners have been affected by the issue, as included in the class. But that’s just the first step: after the lawyers find the replacement, it’s Apple’s lawyers who will determine whether he or she belongs on the case.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Bonny Sweeney, was optimistic: “A lot of people have reached out to us in the last several days saying that they were interested in helping out and stepping forward as a plaintiff,” she said in an interview. “We don’t anticipate any problems.”

You may recall that earlier last week Apple questioned the validity of the plaintiffs and, as such, the validity of the class. The iPod maker’s lawyers have managed to prove that neither of the two plaintiffs named in the case were qualified because they had not bought an iPod between 2005 and May 2009.

Although Marianna Rosen did have an iPod — as testified — during that period, the problem was, the device was ordered by her husband. As such, she was disqualified.

The iPod antitrust lawsuit kicked off last week, and we’ve heard Apple defend its position of using DRM software. Even Steve Jobs appeared in the lawsuit through a video testimony, which media outlets are pushing to broadcast.

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