Apple is being sued over claims that the App Store is a monopoly and that users could get a wider and cheaper choice of software if the company loses.

Cydia, a formerly popular app store for the iPhone, recently filed a lawsuit alleging that Apple has stopped its rise through anti-competitive means. Before Apple created its own app store, Cydia offered a wide variety of software to users.

"If Apple had not anti-competitively acquired and maintained a monopoly on the distribution of iOS apps, users today would have effective choice over how and where they find and obtain iOS apps, and developers would be free to use the iOS app distributor of their choice," the lawsuit states.

Apple spokesman Fred Sainz told The Washington Post that the company does not have a monopoly. The iPhone maker keeps a tight rein on the App Store, requires developers to go through an approval process and takes hefty commissions.