French DRM bill redux

The French Constitutional Council has declared portions of the recently approved DRM law unconstitutional, diluting some of the controversial aspects of the bill. "Apple's lawyers might want to drink a glass of French Champagne today, but not a whole bottle," Dominique Ménard said, a partner at the Lovells law firm who specializes in intellectual property. "The Constitutional Council has highlighted fundamental protections for intellectual property in such a way as to put iTunes a little further from risk of the French law." The 12-page document references the 1789 Declaration on Human Rights, concluding that the new law violates the constitutional protections of property, according to the New York Times.

French lawmakers in the National Assembly, France's lower house, approved the draft law in March by a vote of 296-193. The new legislation sparked fears that Apple would close down its French iTunes Music Store, rather than open up its FairPlay Digital Rights Management (DRM) to competitors. Apple issued a statement the same day calling the law state-sponsored piracy, insisting that if the bill passes "legal music sales will plummet just when legitimate alternatives to piracy are winning over customers."

The law was finally approved in late June after passing the Senate, which watered down the bill before a final vote which included both houses.

by MacNN Staff