Apple asks judge to toss iPod lawsuit

asked a federal judge Monday to throw out an antitrust lawsuit brought on behalf of consumers concerning discontinued restrictions on digital music.

The suit is involves FairPlay, encoding software that Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) used to restrict songs bought on iTunes to only play on iPods while silencing songs from competing digital music stores.

The lawsuit was filed in 2005 after Apple RealNetworks introduced software that allowed consumers to get around FairPlay only to have Apple issue an iTunes update that restored the restrictions. Apple stopped using FairPlay in 2009 but the lawsuit over whether it violated antitrust laws continued.

Robert Mittelstaedt, an Apple attorney told U.S. District Court Judge James Ware in San Jose, Calif. that the software was intended to improve the iTunes listening experience, according to a Bloomberg report.

Apple cited consumer complaints about problems playing downloads from other companies as a reason for its actions, but told the judge that it hadn't done any independent testing to verify the problem. The company employs about 1,000 people in Austin.

Ware said he will rule on Apple's dismissal request next month.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs met with plaintiff attorneys in a deposition for the case on April 12.