France drops iTunes bombshell

profdlp

Sorting the DRM issues out is going to be a confusing process. It is likely to make a lot of lawyers richer, a lot of music lovers poorer, and nearly everyone involved dissatisfied with the outcome - whatever it may be.

French legislation designed to give consumers greater interoperability for their copy-protected digital downloads is now set for the statute book. But the loophole designed to soften its impact looks set to send shockwaves throughout the industry.

Known colloquially as the 'iTunes Law' - even though it doesn't mention Apple - the bill was intended to break the vertical lock-in which prevents iPods from playing files locked down with Microsoft DRM, and many other MP3 players from playing files locked with Apple's DRM.
Click here to find out more!

And so it does.

Except that a loophole added this month permits Apple to carry on exactly as they do today, provided they obtain the artists' permission. The wording, at least in translations we've seen, means that Apple must only obey a compulsory technical disclosure order if the DRM is "additional to, or independent of, those explicitly decided by the copyright holders".

One may not think that legislation in France will have a significant effect on the rest of the planet, but the legal world relies heavily on precedent. There are a lot of legal minds across the globe who will be watching this matter carefully.

Source: The Register

jhenry

That royally sucks. As much as I like Apple and their products, it still bugs me that the fifteen dollars in music before I got my iPod is worthless. Oh well, I've got a couple hundred in iTunes music, so unfortunately I'll never convert.

Not that I would anyways. Still, the option to play WMA would have been very nice.

muddocktor

There's always Tunbite, jhenry. It works well too.