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Buy a case or a dock at an Apple store emblazoned with the “Made for iPod” seal of official Cupertino approval, and you put a twenty percent commission directly into Apple’s pockets.

Needless to say, Apple’s just as protective of that revenue stream as some shadier third-party accessory makers are of trying to weasel their way out of paying it. Now there’s a showdown coming: Apple is taking a number of these more scurrilous and skinflint accessory makers to court, saying that the products they make “are of inferior quality and reliability, raising significant concerns over compatibility with and damage to Apple’s products.”

Apple’s suit names Accstation, Boxwave Corporation, Crazyondigital, Eforcity Corporation, Everydaysource, Itrimming, and United Integral, and might expand to include twenty other companies.

Of course, this isn’t the only front where Apple is waging this particular crusade: they also frequently change their “Made for iPod” specifications, rendering old accessories obsolete with every new product or new firmware release.

In total, Apple’s out for blood… but something tells me that no matter how far they take this, there’s little they can do to squeeze that blood from the stone of all third-party accessory makers, especially the ones originating from Chinese companies and Taiwanese gadget sweatshops.

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