Apple may be in trouble with its Apple TV set top player and the iTunes store in regards to two separate lawsuits filed this week.
The first claims that Apple knowingly infringed on copyrights belonging to artistic photographer Louis Psihoyos with an Apple TV advertisement that uses a "video wall" consisting of many small videos playing at once with an Apple TV box in the middle. According to the lawsuit which was filed in Boulder, Colorado, the similarity between Apple"s video wall and Psihoyos" photo is too close to be merely coincidence. In fact, Apple and Psihoyos had been in negotiations over the use of his photo or concept but they never reached an agreement. Psihoyos" attorney Richard Kaudy wrote in the complaint that Apple knowingly ignored Psihoyos" "rights and feelings" and any profits that Apple generated from the Psihoyos" work were kept for itself.
The second suit is a civil complaint that claims Apple along with pop star Avril Lavigne of knowingly infringing on a song written in 1979. The complaint charges that Apple"s iTunes music store is an acting catalyst for music infringement. According to the suit, Avril Lavigne"s hit single "Girlfriend" is based on another song from the 1970"s called "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" by James Gangwer and Tommy Dunbar. According to plaintiffs Gangwer and Dunbar, any company that sells and publishes Lavigne"s song is infringing on their original work.