James L. and Marguerite A. Driessen of Lindon, owners of VIBME LLC, filed the suit in federal court in Salt Lake City alleging that the two companies offered the same types of cards for music downloads for which they hold the patent.

The Driessens, the only employees of their startup company, say their system marries physical stores with online content such as music and movies and, unlike gift cards, can be used for a specific product.

For example, a customer who wanted to purchase a movie but also wanted to download it to a home media server could browse through a store to find a title to buy. He or she could buy a card at the store for just that film and then go home and download the movie. The system allows for traditional shopping, avoids giving credit card numbers or other personal information over the Internet and allows downloads to personal media devices.

"I call it the buy-it-here, play-it-anywhere patent for specific Internet merchandise," said James Driessen.

In the lawsuit, filed late last month, the Driessens said in 2005 they discovered a prototype product by Apple named iTunes Customs Cards described by the company "as a groundbreaking new promotion tool for the music industry." The Apple product was a copy of the one for which the Driessens filed for a patent in 2000, according to the suit.

Apple pulled the product after James Driessen sent the company a letter requesting Apple license the product from the Utah company. Then in November 2007 the couple found that Apple and Starbucks had teamed to offer cards redeemable for songs in Apple's iTunes online store.

Apple and Starbucks continue to market the cards despite the claim from the Utah company that it holds the patent, the lawsuit says.

Representatives for Apple and Starbucks said their companies do not comment on pending litigation.

The Driessens, who both hold law degrees from Brigham Young University, are representing themselves in the suit. James Driessen also holds an MBA from the school.

He said the couple started VIBME and patented their cards, called retail-point-of-sale apparatuses, because he was a stay-at-home dad and wanted a business that he could run from the house.

The company is seeking to license its cards but also is trying to build an online store of media for downloading. But it has been slow to grow because media companies are reluctant to provide their content until VIBME can show that it has signed up a significant number of retail outlets, while stores won't allow the cards until there's a large selection of content from which to choose.

tharvey@sltrib.com