The Tokyo District Court has ordered Apple to pay $3 million in damages to a Japanese inventor, Norihiko Saito. Saito first filed a lawsuit against Apple five years ago, alleging that the clickwheel found on the Classic and some older iPods violates a patent of his. He originally called for 10 billion yen in damages, or about $101 million, based on the strength of iPod sales at the time.
Aside from the Classic and the Shuffle, the iPod lineup has completely shifted away from clickwheels in favor of touchscreens. iPods as a whole have seen a dramatic decline in business, since a growing number of people are choosing to use phones and tablets for music instead. In its most recent quarterly results call, Apple deliberately ignored publicizing iPod figures, which have become marginal next to iPhone and iPad revenues.
