www.apple.com/ipod/start

ZapMedia Services Inc. said it has filed a patent infringement suit against the Silicon Valley giant for unspecified damages related to Apple’s iTunes Internet site and media players such as iPod.

ZapMedia said that in the late 1990s, its predecessor company created a system that would allow consumers to “gain control over their digital media assets,” and filed two patents to protect its intellectual property.

U.S. consumer electronics and computer maker Apple was sued over its best-selling iPod media player and related iTunes web service, an Internet company said Wednesday.

The company claims that it met with Apple to discuss its offerings, and Apple violated ZapMedia’s patents when it released the iPod in 2001 and the iTunes store in 2003.

An official at the trade and economy ministry overseeing product problems said a defect in the lithium-ion battery is suspected in the iPod Nano, model number MA099J/A. He spoke on customary condition of anonymity, adding that he was reiterating a ministry position.

 The problem, which came to light in January in Kanagawa Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, was reported by Apple in March to the ministry, according to the official. No one was injured, he said.

A Japanese government agency is looking into a possible defect in Apple Inc.’s iPod after one of the digital music players reportedly emitted sparks while recharging, an official said Wednesday.

 The ministry said about 425,000 iPods of the same suspected model were shipped into Japan by Apple. It was unclear how many were in stores or people’s homes.

Apple Japan did not contest the ministry statement but refused further comment.

 The ministry has instructed Apple Japan to find out the cause of what it is categorizing as a fire linked to the iPod, and Apple must report back to the government. The lithium-ion battery has been blamed for a series of blazes in laptops recently, resulting in massive global recalls.

The shipment began in September 2005 and was discontinued after September 2006, the ministry said