The Beatles' record company Apple Corps Ltd. has sued Apple Computer Inc., claiming the computer maker's iTunes products violate a 1991 agreement that the Beatles said meant the Silicon Valley computer maker would stay out of the music business.

When Steve Jobs co-founded Apple Computer in 1977, he is said to have chosen the name in part as a tribute to the Beatles. The 1991 deal dealt with the future use of the name "Apple" and of both companies' well-known logos.

Apple Corps is owned by Sir Paul McCartney; Ringo Starr; John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono; and the estate of George Harrison. They sued on July 4, about a month after Apple Computer launched its iTunes Music Store, a download music service.

The Beatles' suit, filed in the High Court in London, seeks an injunction to enforce the terms of the 1991 deal, and monetary damages for the alleged contract breach.

"Unfortunately Apple and Apple Corps now have differing interpretations of this agreement and will need to ask a court to resolve this dispute," Katie Cotton, vice president of worldwide communications for Apple Computer, said Friday after the record company disclosed the suit.

The stakes could be sizeable: Apple's iTunes Music Store has sold more than 10 million songs at 99 cents each since its April 28 launch, and is a large part of Apple's strategy to promote its computers as the center of a digital lifestyle.

Already, the Cupertino-based company is paying royalties to the five major record labels for music distribution rights, which so far are the most lenient granted to any Internet-related music service.

Copyright © 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.