An eight-person jury found Apple not guilty in the iTunes DRM case, avoiding a potential $1 billion payment to customers who were unhappy with the implementation of DRM in 2005.

iTunes 7.0, released in 2006, came with a new type of DRM to stop music piracy. Unfortunately, the DRM also kept removing non-iTunes music from a customer's library every time there was an update. To this day, iTunes still has a hard time with non-iTunes music, but it has gotten better.

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The jury found that iTunes 7.0 was a genuine improvement over the previous version and claimed the added security was good for customers.

Apple argued various reasons for the implementation of DRM, number one being the music industry wanted to make sure piracy was stopped through iTunes. Apple also referenced games consoles, which do not accept video games from other consoles.

The reference did give good reinforcement to the argument, alongside Apple claiming third-party music was bound to have problems, when Apple specifically designed iTunes to accept and verify its own music.

The original case started almost a decade ago and finally came to court last year with a $350 million potential payout to customers affected. However, after news stories broke on the case more customers moved in for some potential payment, lifting the potential bill to $1 billion.

However, the plaintiff plans to appeal. Apple and members of the jury declined to comment on the matter.

iTunes has been in the forefront of music for the past decade, changing the industry for the better. Now it faces real competition in the form of Spotify, Pandora and other streaming services. Apple may deploy a new version of Beats Music, to heavily compete in the music-streaming scene.

TagsiTunes, DRM, music piracy, iTunes 7.0