Apple’s best selling media player - iPod - has been hit with a patent infringement case filed by ZapMedia. The suit asks for an unspecified amount in damages and includes both the iPod as well as the iTunes website.

The suit was filed on May 14, 2008 in the Eastern District Court in Texas. ZapMedia cited “multiple attempts” to resolve the patent issue with Apple before the lack of satisfactory closure in the matter resulted in the lawsuit being filed.

In the suit, ZapMedia alleges that in the late 1990s a predecessor to the current corporation created an exclusive interconnected system that is much like the online distribution process that is used in Apple’s iTunes store.

Two patents were filed in October 2000 to protect the intellectual property of these designs. The suit also alleges that the patent filings may constitute the foundations of the DRM (digital rights management) platform.

ZapMedia claims that Apple - as well as other media and technological giants - came in contact with their original technology concept in meetings, as the overview of the original designs were explained to them in possible partnership ventures.

The suit further alleges that no permission was asked by Apple for use of the designs, and they unveiled their own iPod media player and iTunes software application in October 2001, and opened an iTunes store in April 2003.

The suit contends that the technology used by Apple is based on the original designs by ZapMedia’s predecessor company.