CASE STUDY: ITUNES STORE

About iTunes

The iTunes Store from Apple is the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store. The iTunes Store features the world’s largest catalog with over six million songs, 550 television shows and over 500 movies and has sold over three billion songs, 100 million TV shows and over two million movies. [Source: Apple Computer, Inc., October 2007]

Things to read:

• iTunes Overview
• iTunes Music Labels and Marketing
• Apple Computer financial information
• iTunes Affiliate Program
• iTunes: How Copyright, Contract, and Technology Shape the Business of Digital Media

Questions to consider:

• How does the iTunes business model work? How is it different from traditional models for the music industry?
• How does the iTunes model compare with other Internet music services, such as Listen.com?
• Can the iTunes model survive in an environment where illegal music downloading runs rampant?

Selected trademark applications and registrations:

• ITUNES ®
• Search real-time for U.S. trademarks.

Selected patents:

• Search real-time for new U.S. patents granted to Apple Computer.