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For at least two years, Apple deleted songs from iPods that had been bought from rival music stores, according to accusations made in court.

Each time an Apple user with non-iTunes music tried to sync their devices, between 2007 and 2009, the tech firm urged them to restore the players to factory settings.

And lawyers claim this was a deliberate move to wipe the rival files, and cause the users' music libraries to 'blow up.' 

Lawyers have claimed that each time a user with non-iTunes music tried to sync their phones and iPods, between 2007 and 2009 (Steve Jobs is pictured launching the 2009 iPod Nano), the tech firm urged them to restore their devices to factory settings. This is said to have been a deliberate move to wipe the rival files

Apple has been taken to court by individuals and businesses who accuse it of abusing its monopoly position in the digital music player market.

The suit is being heard in a US district court in California, and is specifically looking into whether Apple tried to bolster its iPod and iTunes market between 2007 and 2009.

The plaintiffs are seeking $350 million (£223 million) in damages, claiming that Apple's behaviour forced them to pay more for songs and hardware.

And under antitrust laws in the US, if the case is successful, these damages could rise to as much as $1 billion (£638 million).

The lawyers argue Apple set up a campaign to make sure its iPods only included music bought directly from the firm's proprietary store.

Attorney Patrick Coughlin said: 'You guys decided to give them the worst possible experience and blow up' a user's music library.'

But Apple insisted that the move was a legitimate security measure.

Security director Augustin Farrugia said in court that his company was protecting users from hackers and malware by removing MP3s downloaded from outside of iTunes.

He continued that the warning message, which instructed users about the factory reset, was kept 'vague' to prevent confusion.

And any updates that wiped libraries were only intended to keep the devices clean and safe.

Apple is also accused of inflating the prices of its iPods by almost $350 million (£223 million).

Apple declined to comment on legal proceedings. 

Later this week, Apple executives including Eddy Cue and Phil Schiller will testify in the case, in addition to a video testimony recorded by co-founder Steve Jobs before he died in 2011.

Mr Jobs once referred to music pirates as 'someone breaking into our house'.

Apple has been taken to court by individuals and businesses who accuse the it of abusing its monopoly position in the digital music player market. They are seeking $350 million in damages, claiming that Apple, and co-founder Steve Jobs' (pictured) behaviour forced them to pay more for songs and hardware

This isn't the first time Apple has been in trouble for controlling music on devices. Earlier this year, the firm automatically added U2's Songs of Innocence album to millions of iOS devices without permission. It was then forced to create a dedicated page (pictured) that made it easy for disgruntled users to remove the files

This isn't the first time Apple has been in trouble with users for controlling music on devices. 

Earlier this year, the firm automatically added U2's Songs of Innocence album to millions of iOS devices without permission. 

In total, the album was added to iTunes Store customers in 119 countries. 

Users took to Twitter and Facebook to express outrage at the plans, and many moaned the album was difficult to remove from their devices. 

In response, the tech giant created a dedicated page that lets users remove the album by signing in with their Apple ID.