| Apple Computer has agreed to pay a $100 million settlement for a license to use technology patented by Creative Technology Limited, the world's second-largest maker of MP3 players after Apple. Creative sued Apple in May, claiming that Apple's iPod player infringed on a patent used in Creative's Zen player. Apple also had to recall 1.8 million laptop batteries produced for them by Sony because of overheating problems. The recall is the second-largest safety-related recall in the consumer electronics industry; the largest was Dell Computer's recall of 4.1 million Sony laptop batteries the previous week. |