Filed under: Apple Corporate, iPod Family
Microsoft lawyer handling latest iPod lawsuit
Earlier this
week, John Kiel Patterson filed a class action
suit against Apple regarding the iPod's potential to harm listeners' hearing. He is seeking compensation for
damages and upgrades to the iPod that will make it safer. Now, it's pretty easy to say that everyone knows that listening to music via headphones at a high volume for prolonged periods of time will damage your hearing. Still, it wouldn't kill Apple to put a warning sticker on the packaging. But here's where the story gets weird. Mr. Patterson won't state if his hearing has been damaged from using an iPod. But his lawyer, Steve W. Berman, says that's beside the point, as it's the iPod's dangerous potential that Patterson is concerned with. Also, Steve Berman is (and has been) on retainer with Microsoft. I'm just saying.
Start your engines, conspiracy theorists.
[Via MacDailyNews]
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Pierre said 9:03PM on 2-02-2006
what crap.
anyone with the IQ of a small bush knows that you shouldn't blast your headphones...It's common sense.
Reply
LD said 9:09PM on 2-02-2006
Your sister site Engadget reports that:
iPods already include warnings that state that "permanent hearing loss may occur if earphones or headphones are used at high volume,"
Reply
narco said 9:25PM on 2-02-2006
So wait, if there are no damages, then why is he seeking compensation for damages? He should start a petition to get Apple to place warning stickers on the iPod (even though it's already in the documentation), but suing Apple for compensation is obviously a scheme to get some free money.
It's up to the user to read the documentation -- Apple can't be held liable for those who don't.
Fishes,
narco.
Reply
Patrick Walker said 9:29PM on 2-02-2006
Well, you could easily rebut against Microsoft.
With the crapulence that is setting up hardware and software in Windows, it has the *potential* to cause cerebral collapse or even a heart attack in users.
Don't people want to be adults anymore?
Reply
penginkun said 9:43PM on 2-02-2006
Does this mean I can sue Microsoft because their software MIGHT be susceptible to infection by a trojan horse or virus, leading to data loss or hardware damage?
Or that I can sue Ford because their cars COULD be used to run me over, thus ending my life or at least crippling me permanently?
These class action suits are out of control. Damned greedy lawyers!
Reply
Andrew Eller said 10:02PM on 2-02-2006
Let's sue auto manufacturers for allowing cars to drive past the speed limit. Then, we can sue water heater manufacturers from allowing the water to reach temperatures that are too hot to bath in. And while we're at it, lets sue the sun for being too bright to stare at without sunglasses!
Or maybe we should just use our intelligence and keep the volume at a level that isn't uncomfortable.
Reply
joe said 10:24PM on 2-02-2006
I general, I'd be on the side of the fence that said this is crap. Just turn down the volume. However, I just want to put this out there... hoping that Apple / Motorola will do something about it. I just bought a Motorola SLVR. I got it because I like the phone design, not really for iTunes. But I was trying out the iTunes with my Shure headphones the volume was too loud. I tried to turn it down, but there are only 7 levels to the volume. It was on the lowest level and the volume was uncomfortable. I tried to get used to it, but finally just turned it off. The last / lowest volume setting was too loud. Trying to turn it down one more notch would mute it. This makes it impossible to listen to with headphones with out damaging my hearning.
Reply
Derek said 10:28PM on 2-02-2006
Ugh, how ugly would a sticker look on the iPod? YUCK!!!!
Reply
edward said 10:40PM on 2-02-2006
if he can do it, I can sue against any type of companies, government for any reason. Mcdonald, burger king, walmart, police, post office....
he got wrong education.
Reply
Steven said 10:50PM on 2-02-2006
For this lawsuit to be even halfway 'correct' (if you can call it that) would be to sue other MP3 players, portable CD player makers, personal media player makers, etc.
He's just going after Apple so he can try to get money because it's the most popular product out there.
Reply
Chris L W said 11:08PM on 2-02-2006
I'm no lemming, but...
http://esoterik72.blogspot.com/2006/02/stupid-lawsuits.html
... I feel the same about this as 95% of the readership does. The link is to my blog entry on this, which is also linked to Engadget.
Reply
narco said 11:21PM on 2-02-2006
Or, since the Microsoft lawyer is involved, this could be another stunt to give the iPod bad publicity. It's all over the news, and now parents are going to think twice before allowing their kids to buy iPods because "I heard they cause hearing loss."
If you can't beat 'em...
Fishes,
narco.
Reply
Richard Testani said 4:21PM on 10-31-2007
Joe -
The phone is not developed by Apple, which uses completely different hardware than the iPod does. Your situation does not apply - it's an entirely new class action suit but against Motorola.
Reply
Derek said 11:40PM on 2-02-2006
Many people were upset that the iPod gave Apple a major power. Despite the obvious bias on this site, there is still a very large and very angry group of people that always want to see Apple to fail and Microsoft to win. Many people have truly convinced themselves that Microsoft is the only way to go and they can't accept a minority market share where their choice has always been a majority.
Reply
Jarrod Turner said 12:11AM on 2-03-2006
I just read the Chicago Tribune article about the Shure/SLVR volume problems, but the truth is that any device is loud with shures anyway, I use my E2Cs at about 15% volume with my 3G ipod because its too loud any other way. I mean, the SLVR isn't designed for the smaller percentage of users who care about audio quality.
Reply
Wheels said 12:41AM on 2-03-2006
It's funny, I connect my iPod to my stereo using a dock (the jack on the dock is always at full volume, it's not influenced by the iPod's volume control.) and think the iPod's output to be a little weak. I have hooked up walkmans, portable CD players and the ilk to home stereos before using headphone jacks and found that cranking the volume on the devices will easily overload the stereo. This is impossible with the iPod - I have connected it to my stereo through its headphone jack. I'd love to know the iPods audio output rating as compared to other devices.
Reply
Steve M said 1:12AM on 2-03-2006
In other news, the U.S. government is being forced to place a warning label on all of it's Nukes, stating that the use of the weapons may be hazardous to human health.
No, I'm joking of course. The actual label says: "If you can read this, good bye."
Reply
Serge de Gheldere said 4:07AM on 2-03-2006
"Still, it wouldn't kill Apple to put a warning sticker on the packaging."
Are you kidding ? I find this stickers ridiculous and offensive and dangerous in that they make people insensitive to warnings that may really be necessary.
It high time people like this sorry guy start to behave as almost adults, and accept responsibilities for their actions.
I would be laughable if we all didn't end up paying for the consequences for bums like this guy: in the end what goes around, comes around. And the consumers end up paying more for their products, for their healthcare, for their coffee because of all the
Maybe we should sue the suer for being responsible for higher prices of Apple products.
Reply
Mac Diva said 6:19AM on 2-03-2006
There are several warnings about not playing the iPod at high volumes in the manual. Apple should not have to apply stickers to the iPod, ruining its appearance. Nor would they necessarily do any good. There's a phenomenon called 'warning fatigue.' There are so many warnings about products that people often ignore the warnings.
I have worked in products liability law and I consider this a frivolous lawsuit. The 'injury' claim he is suing over is prospective. Furthermore, the plaintiff would have to be negligent for the injury to occur.
I can imagine a scenario in which a health department or attorney general might go crusading in regard to MP3 player volume. Arguably they have the standing to do that. But, an individual claiming prospective harm doesn't.
Reply
Denis Defreyne said 8:14AM on 2-03-2006
Hot news! Man sues knife-producing company for possibility of causing wounds!
Reply