According to German magazine Der Spiegel, Sony has reached a settlement with a German man who claimed he created and patented the concept of the portable music player - ie the walkman - way back in 1977. Sony launched their Walkman two years later, making many a penny over the years selling the technology and its successors.
German inventor Andreas Pavel first challenged Sony over their Walkman in 1980, claiming they owed him a cut of the profits because he patented the idea first. While initial talks were friendly and Sony agreed to make a royalty payment to Pavel in 1986, they always denied the inventor's allegations they had stolen his idea - arguing they developed their walkman without knowledge of Pavel's designs.
So despite the royalty deal Pavel continued his legal fight to be given ownership of the concept. Having registered the patent in a number of territories Pavel had a choice of legal systems to use to fight that claim. Despite some courts, including a British court, siding with Sony on this one, the electronics firm has finally given in, agreeing to pay Pavel several million euros providing he agrees to not take any further legal action in any territory.
Der Spiegel reports Pavel is now planning on looking for similar pay-offs from any electronics firm producing portable music players that could be said to have derived from his original design. Which means Apple's iPod department may be getting a knock on the door very soon.