Norway to discuss iTunes policy
updated 03:05 pm EDT, Tue August 15, 2006
Norway to discuss iTunes
Nordic consumer regulators are scheduled to meet in Iceland on August 24-25th to discuss possible legal action against Apple. The meeting in Reykjavik will seek to resolve whether to file a lawsuit against Apple if the company refuses to lift restrictions preventing tracks purchased via iTunes from playing on rival music players, according to the Associated Press. Meeting attendees will also discuss whether to address the Apple case individually or jointly. Consumer agencies in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden cried foul in June, saying that Apple was violating copyright laws by restricting music purchased from the iTunes Music Store to play only on its iPod portable player, locking out competitors. Apple responded to the complaints, saying that its business model would not change and that it was not in violation of those country's laws.
The Cupertino-based company responded to prior anti-DRM complaints in early August from consumer agencies in Scandinavia, but also announced that it had sold 200 million songs in Europe over a two year period. European competition (EC) officials said in late June that they were wary about proposals to force Apple to make its iTunes Music service compatible with rival players, but said that it did not regard Apple's move as an instance of major concern.
Coming under further fire, the British Phonographic Institute (BPI) asked Apple in early June to make its iTunes DRM compatible with other music players, following the victory of a Norwegian consumer advocate group which set the stage for Norway to consider legal action against the company in the near future.
France shoots for open iTunes
Apple also recently fought a bitter battle with French lawmakers over a new bill which repeatedly threatened to force the company to open its closed iPod/iTunes ecosystem to competitors. Industry watchers speculated that Apple would close its French iTunes doors, rather than comply with what it called "state-sponsored piracy."
The law became diluted as it traversed the French Senate, and after passing was declared partially unconstitutional by the French Constitutional Council. The council elected to highlight fundamental protections for intellectual property so as to put iTunes a little further from risk of the new law, which finally went into effect on August 3rd.
I don't get it...
08/15, 03:46pm reply
Maybe its the American capitalist mindset that I have, but I do not get why people think that Apple should be forced to sell music that can play on other players. Do Microsoft and Sony have to make their video games playable on other video game systems? For the life of me, it makes no sense. Do Microsoft or Apple have to make their software run on both Windows and Macs? There are plenty of examples out there of one company making accessories or services, etc. that only work with their product. Please, someone, maybe someone French or Icelandic, or from Sweden or something, explain the logic on these lawsuits!
bsaxton
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Joined: Jan 2000
bsaxton
08/15, 04:05pm reply
You don't suppose that Microsoft has been pestering a few legislators, do you?
MTM
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bsaxtontry living here...
08/15, 04:24pm reply
This is all par for the course in a bureaucratic european mindset. Things are not so much free as orderly or uniformitised. The apple case gets caught up in the efforts to "unify" and "free" access, when actually it just doesn't trust the market. margaret Thather said"you can't buck the market" but these people just don't/can't think that way.
Andy Cotton
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RE: i don't get it...
08/15, 06:24pm reply
Since video games have to be coded for a specific platform, as well as any software for that matter, I think that is a poor analogy. I think a better analogy would be that of buying a DVD that only played on a specific branded player - I don't think many people would like that, and therefore the format wouldn't stick around for very long. Why iTMS has been so successful is beyond me, I would never buy any media that locked me into one brand, even if it is currently the best there is.
xianman
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what about Microsoft!!!
08/15, 09:26pm reply
and its closed DRM scheme??! Do you see PlaysForSure on Mac and Linux these days?!!
DudeMac
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xianman. bad analogy
08/16, 02:57am reply
His analogy was on the spot. MSFT does have offer Playsforsure support for any OS other than windows. With ITMS, you are not tied to one OS. It is available for both windows and OS X and your music files can reside on either OS at any given time.
What the Norwegians are trying to do is basically like expecting an HI-8 tape to work in a miniDV camera or visa versa. Are they going to go after Sony and their UMD format videos next? Earth to Norway, mind your own business and do something about your national debt.
The only reason Apple introduced their format in the first place is because MSFT did not support OS X. The DRM is there because the copyright holders insist on it.
aristotles
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Joined: Jul 2004
Aristotles??
09/26, 05:33pm reply
You donīt get, fine. Norway says the EULA that comes with iTunes is illegal in Norway - that has nothing to with the DRM issue. If iTunes wants to do business here - play by our rules! Oh - and Norway has NO national debt, unlike the US. Norway is the worlds 3rd largest exporter of oil (to the US amongst others)!!!!
andrewh1112
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