06/06/2006, 5:10pm, EDT
Tuesday, June 6th
Norway challenges Apple's iTunes ToS
"This is a great victory for the digital rights of Norwegian consumers," the group said. The decision clearly states that the terms of agreement demanded by iTunes are unreasonable with respect to the country's consumer protection laws.
The group argued that Apple must be held liable for security holes and other bugs that could be exploited by hackers or computer viruses.
"Consumers are barred from lodging compensation claims if iTunes' software creates security holes that can be exploited by computer viruses," a group representative said. "This is a very real issue, which was most recently highlighted by the case of Sony BMG's latest DRM, XCP," referencing the recent security hole introduced by Sony on some copy-protected CDs.
Specifically, users can not be forced to give consent to be governed by English Law when running iTunes software in Norway and Apple cannot disclaim responsibility for any damage caused by its software. In addition, the decision also found said that Apple could not alter the terms of service at anytime, a disclaimer the company includes in its standard terms of service before running iTunes software.
The group said that iTunes must now alter their terms and conditions to comply with Norwegian law by the 21st of June.
"We are very satisfied with the decision. There is a general tendency for consumers to meet grossly unreasonable agreements when they download files with cultural content. It is therefore positive that the Ombudsman gets a grip on this so that consumer interests are also protected when such material is downloaded," senior advisor Torgeir Waterhouse says.
A ruling, however, was not made on several important issues that were raised by the group in its initial complaint. Waiting on a response from Apple, the Ombudsman, a local judge of sorts, has not ruled whether Apple must include a "cooling-off" period when purchasing from iTunes and whether Apple's geographic limitations are reasonable under the country's laws. Currently, Apple says that all sales are final.
The group is also pushing for a ruling on iTunes' DRM, which has faced a backlash in other European countries such as France. Earlier this year the country pushed for a law that would force Apple to open up its iTunes FairPlay DRM to competitors, a move that industry analysts say would likely result in Apple closing its French iTunes Music Store.
Filed under: industry
Other story tags: digital music/video
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1. The EULA in iTunes is more or less pretty similar to other EULA from MS Products, Adobe, etc. Has similar issues been brought up with those?
2. In regards to the DRM. Is the real reason why everyone continues to try to force open the DRM is because they only have the iPod to play the music on? Would a similar issue exist if MS had the same marketshare on a similar store and only Rio had the ability to play the songs? I have seen a lot of the DRM pleas/demands to open the format, but if they don't like the format - why not just choose one of the many other options that exist?
dw9
If that's the case, why hasn't MS been sued into oblivion in Norway?
I dont think we have to worry about a Sont like thing with Fairplay as it works much differently. It doesn't load SW that messes around at a low level to prevent your CD drive from working, for example.
I am not sure I understand the "cooling off" and why sales cannot be final. With non-tangible goods they have to be final or else you get too much return-fraud.
Why can't the record companies sell their music online with no DRM but make it cheap enough (say .10 a song, $1 and album) such that people will be willing to spend the money instead of take the risk on the quality and illeagality of P2P?
I would guess that by slashing prices 10-fold, the record companies would make much more money than they are now. And drop CD prices while they're at it, too!
I'm amazed at the naivete of the apple-defenders who, because its apple, don't care what the issue is, they'll defend apple.
So DRM is the greatest thing since sliced bread, the way you all talk. Yet you people also don't wait one second to complain that other music services don't work on a mac, or complaining about software with activation (Windows, Office, other non-MS apps), or when some new CD comes out with DRM that prevents ripping.
But, no, this is Apple, so its lawyers and users who are stupid and don't know what they're talking about.
You're so right, so right! I am an Apple lover, but really, please speak out in a more objective manner!