( Mashable ) -- If you 're one of the millions who purchased an iPod between Sept. 12 , 2006 , and March 31 , 2009 , you might be in for a surprising email . It states that you 're being enlisted in a class-action lawsuit against Apple — though you do have the right to recuse yourself . The class-action lawsuit was originally filed by a customer in January 2005 and was ignited by the creation of the music service Harmony . Back in 2004 , the company RealNetworks created Harmony as a digital rights management ( DRM ) translation service . It allowed users to play songs downloaded from the RealPlayer music store on Apple 's iPod . But as any iPod user knows , songs must be loaded onto iTunes to be played on Apple 's devices . That 's because Apple created an iPod firmware update not too long after the announcement of Harmony , which blocked it and other music services from uploading songs to the iPod . The customer filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple , accusing the company of unfairly blocking competition . Now , years later , it 's gaining steam . Though RealNetworks has nothing to do with this case , the . District Court for the Northern District of California gave the lawsuit class-action status in November 2011 . The website ipodlawsuit.com , which details the entire case , explains : . `` The lawsuit claims that Apple violated federal and state laws by issuing software updates in 2006 for its iPod that prevented iPods from playing songs not purchases on iTunes . The lawsuit claims that the software updates caused iPod prices to be higher than they otherwise would have been . '' The `` class-action status '' of the case means that if you own any of these devices — first through fourth generation Nanos , second and third generation Touches , first through third generation Shuffles , a fifth generation classic iPod or the special edition U2 iPod — you 're automatically included in the lawsuit . ( Official notices began going out this week . ) But you give up any right to sue Apple individually over the same concerns . Alternatively , you could also request exclusion from the case . However , if Apple does end up losing , you do n't get to share in any kind of `` recovery '' that may be rewarded . So far , there 's no money involved — no actual settlement or reward has been determined . If you 're one of these iPod owners , will you opt to be excluded from the case , or will you take part in a class-action lawsuit against Apple ? Sound off in the comments . © 2013 MASHABLE.com . All rights reserved .
iPod users have been enlisted in a class - action lawsuit against Apple . The music service Harmony allowed users to play songs downloaded from the iTunes music store on Apple 's iPod . Apple created a firmware update that blocked other music providers from uploading songs to the iPod .