France passes draft, threatens iTunes
updated 01:00 pm EST, Tue March 21, 2006
Law threatens iTunes
French lawmakers approved an online copyright bill Tuesday that would require Apple to open its FairPlay digital rights management format that it uses for its iTunes music store and iPod players, according to The Associated Press. Lawmakers in the National Assembly, France's lower house, approved the bill 296-193. However, the law has yet to be debated and approved by the Senate--a process that would not begin until at least May, according to report. The "draft" law also would force Apple as well as others such as Sony to share proprietary copy-protection technologies so that rivals can offer compatible services and players. "Under the bill, companies would be required to reveal the secrets of hitherto-exclusive copy-protection technologies such as Apple's FairPlay format and the ATRAC3 code used by Sony's Connect store and Walkman players."






Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Oct 2003
we all know...
if you look at how apple has reacted in the past to such situations, we can expect a "silent" shut down of the Itunes store in france...