There are holdouts, but none bigger the Beatles.

That could change if there's a settlement in a trademark lawsuit between the Beatles' Apple Corps and Apple Computer.

News reports hint that lawyers for both sides are working toward a multimillion-dollar settlement that also might make the Beatles catalog available online, initially at Apple's iTunes Music Store. Both Apple Computer and Apple Corps declined to comment.

Should a deal come to fruition, the effect on digital music "would be huge," says Paul Resnikoff, editor of the Digital Music News Web site. "Nothing is bigger" than the Beatles catalog.

Apple Computer and Apple Corps - the Beatles song label - have a long legal history. Feeling the computer company had infringed on the trademarked Apple Corps name, the Beatles sued and Apple Computer settled out of court - agreeing not to move into the music business.

When Apple Computer began selling music software in 1989, Apple Corps sued again. Apple Corps filed a third suit last year when the company launched iTunes.

In settling and securing rights to the Beatles catalog for iTunes, Apple Computer would gain a big advantage, says Mike McGuire with industry tracker GartnerG2.