French lawmakers gave final approval on a law, that some say could drive Apples iTunes and other such services out of the country. The reason: Compatibility. The new copyright law calls for the Apple proprietary DRM scheme used at the iTunes music store to become compatible with rivals music players. Member yronnen used our news submit to tell us: "Finally someone goes against the corporate hoodlums. The question is, will Apple stop its iTunes services in France? I don"t think so, because this means that we are going to see similar laws in other countries in the EU which will probably lead to some legislation in the US."
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The vote was the final legislative step before the bill becomes law - barring the success of a last-ditch constitutional challenge filed last week by the opposition Socialists. Currently, songs bought on iTunes can be played only on iPods, and an iPod can't play downloads from other stores that rival the extensive iTunes music catalog from major artists and labels - like Sony's Connect and Napster. Apple described the original version of the copyright bill as "state-sponsored piracy" earlier this year, but a company spokesman was not immediately available to comment on Friday's vote. |
Although the law is being nicknamed the iTunes law, it
has been watered down from the original, stricter version. Now, there has been
some compromising and Apples "Fair Play" DRM scheme has been given a loophole to
continue on. If we read the comment above from Apple, if it is accurate, it's a great example of how the music industry and it's players, like to wrap themselves in the word piracy as a means of protection from competition. If the people pay for the music, just because they don't have to use an iPod to listen to it, by no stretch of the imagination should these people be labeled pirates. I would say though, that Apple or any company using a proprietary DRM as a means of creating a stranglehold in the market are "Robber Barons". Maybe it is time they took a look in the mirror!
Source: AP News MyWay
