A federal judge has recently permitted a monopoly abuse lawsuit against Apple and AT&T to move forward. The lawsuit is now a class action lawsuit, and it consolidates several filed by iphone buyers dating back to late 2007, a few months after the first generation Apple smart phones went on sale.

The lawsuit complains of Apple’s practice of ‘locking’ iphones so they can only be used on AT&T’s network and its control over what applications iphone owners can install on the phone.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction to keep Apple from selling locked iPhones in the U.S. and from determining what iPhone programs people can install. It also seeks damages to cover legal fees and other costs.