French Lawmakers Approve 'iTunes Law'

An anonymous reader writes "Lawmakers in the French government have passed a controversial iTunes law, which has the stated intention of forcing Apple to allow purchased music to be universally useable." From the article: "In a statement issued after lawmakers hashed out the final compromise text last week, Apple said it hoped the market would be left to decide 'which music players and online music stores are offered to consumers.' The final compromise asserts that companies should share the required technical data with any rival that wants to offer compatible music players and online stores, but it toned down many of the tougher measures backed by lower-house lawmakers early on."

Comments

Funny

[lisaparratt]

Because the way I'm looking at it, it has the intention of making Apple close ITMS in France...

Re:Funny

[shotfeel]

I'm not sure it does anything. From TFA

The final compromise asserts that companies should share the required technical data with any rival that wants to offer compatible music players and online stores,

So for music from the iTMS, the "technical data" is to burn to CD, rip to mp3, transfer to music player of choice.

To play on the iPod, other music stores just need to sell music in non-protected form (AAC or mp3).

Note that AFAIK (from summarized English translations) it says nothing of the process being free, easy, or lossless.

The market can only decide if it CAN decide

[Opportunist]

It's quite cynical from a patent holder to invoke the right for free trade and the idea that in a free market the customer will settle the question which good is better.

He cannot.

Actually, the French decision IS the epitome of free trade: BOTH products, the iPod and iTunes have to succeed as the best platform. You can't have one product "tag along" with the other one. BOTH have to be successful to be the main player.

Now, I wonder if that verdict can be applied to the hassle around Windows and Media Player/IE...

Re:The market can only decide if it CAN decide

[posterlogo]

It's quite cynical from a patent holder to invoke the right for free trade and the idea that in a free market the customer will settle the question which good is better. He cannot. Actually, the French decision IS the epitome of free trade: BOTH products, the iPod and iTunes have to succeed as the best platform. You can't have one product "tag along" with the other one. BOTH have to be successful to be the main player.

NO idea what you're talking about. Patents are fully compatible with free trade. In this case, there isn't really even a patent on the idea of listening to music in a digital format. All anyone has to do to get into this business is license the music from the copyright holder, and make your own damn online store and digital player. Oh wait, but you're not really going to be able to offer it at 99c, right? Thanks France, you just made it easier for the RIAA to anally probe us all. Itunes is a free software package. You can download music and play it on itunes. That is the purpose of the software package. A separate hardware package, the iPod, enables you to take that music onto a portable player. WTF is so hard to understand about that? Want an ipod, but not iTunes music? FINE!!! Get some mp3s. Want iTunes, but no iPod? FINE!!! What is the problem here?? You want neither, FINE!!! No one is shoving these products down our throats.

Re:When government needs to butt out.

[PCM2]

This whole law smacks of Frances communist-like laws to give poorly run French buisnesses a chance by gimping the better run foreign competitors.

Oh yeah, and the United States' capitalist-like laws have never done that.

Re:When government needs to butt out.

[govtpiggy]

Have you never heard of tariffs? That is the essence of "gimping the better run foreign competitors" and is law in the US.