Apple defends itself in court

The trial between Apple and Eight Mile Style is officially underway in Detroit, Michigan, with the Cupertino-based tech company defending its sale of select Eminem songs.

The contract between Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated, who worked with Aftermath Records, didn’t include offering digital music tracks that could be sold through iTunes.  The deal between Eight Mile Style and Aftermath is supposedly only valid for CDs and other physical media.

“No where does it say only compact discs,” Apple attorney told U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor.  “No where does it say … not digital downloads.”

The non-jury trial — which has been agreed upon by both sides — could last up to two weeks in length, legal experts note.

Specifically, 93 music tracks are in question — Eight Mile never asked Apple to stop selling the music files, and the company continues to cash royalty checks, according to Apple.  Apple reportedly made $2.5 million, $566,915 of which was attributed to “Lose Yourself”. Aftermath has made $4 million from the Eminem songs through iTunes.

Eminem, whose legal name is Marshall Mathers, is not expected to testify during the trial, as he’s not listed as  a witness.

Since music publishers and Apple have had issues in the past, it should prove interesting to see what the judge’s ruling will be.  The decision could help set a future precedent that changes the way Apple handles agreements with music labels in the future.