Apple Computer has filed a lawsuit against Creative Technology on Friday, saying the Singapore-based company has infringed its digital music player interface patents. The suit follows similar suit against Apple itself by Creative Technology.

Apple alleged Creative Technology of infringing four patents for user-interface systems on the digital music players, reports Financial Times. The suit was filed in response to a similar allegation against Apple by Creative, which is seeking damages and the suspension of sales of the Apple iPod in the U.S. But while Creative Technology has publicly announced it was granted a patent on digital music player interface, Apple has never said that it owns any patents of the kind. 

“Creative proactively held discussions with Apple in our efforts to explore amicable solutions. At no time during these discussions or at any other time did Apple mention to us the patents it raised in its lawsuit,” Phil O'Shaughnessy, a spokesman for Creative, told International Herald Tribune.

Creative said that the company’s engineers invented the portable digital music player interface in the company’s Scotts Valley, California facility in order to address the challenges of convenient organization and access of songs on high-capacity portable digital media players. Creative implemented its now-patented interface on its Nomad Jukebox player, which was announced and presented as a functioning prototype at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2000. The user interface has since been implemented in a variety of Creative players, the most recent being the Zen Vision:M.

Creative said it had requested that the Commission institute an investigation of whether Apple Computer has violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 through its importation and sale after importation into the United States of iPods and iPod Nanos that infringe Creative’s “Zen patent”.