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In 2002, a few months before Apple's application, inventor John Platt

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submitted his own application for a menu-based media player. And the description is remarkablty similar to the method for operating an iPod.

'Platt discloses an apparatus and a method of assisting user interaction with a multimedia asset player by way of a hierarchically ordered user interface, comprising: displaying a first order user interface having a first list of user selectable items; receiving a user selection of one of the user selectable items; and automatically transitioning to and displaying a second order user interface having a second list of user selectable items based upon the user selection,' the USPTO explained.

Apple now has three months to appeal against the decision. Should it fail, the implications are unclear though it could open the way for Platt to demand royalties from Apple and other portable player manufacturers who use a similar navigational method.