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French DRM law is 'unconstitutional'

1 August 2006 8:22 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 10 comments

A French law that could have forced Apple to ensure music from iTunes played on all devices, not just iPods, has been rejected by the French Constitutional Council. As a result, the entire law may have to be re-written. The copyright legislation was passed last month by the French parliament, the Senate and the National Assembly.

The law sought to ensure that online music retailers would sell digital music files that were compatible with all devices. Music from the iTunes music store works only with Apple's iPod devices and music bought from other stores (that contains DRM) doesn't work on iPods.

As the legislation passed through parliament earlier, it had been modified to allow Apple to bypass its demands with permission from the copyright holder of the music. The French Constitutional Council reviews all laws after they are passed to ensure that they don't conflict with the French constitution.

The constitution provides "protection of property" which led the Council to reject some parts of the law. A legal finding published by the Council last week referred to the 1789 Declaration on Human Rights. It found that companies who are forced to make music playable on any device should receive compensation for sharing its own copy protection technology.

The review did not reject the principal of forced interoperability however. "It is good news for Apple because they receive monetary compensation, but much bigger bad news if it forces them to license iTunes," Jean-Baptiste Soufron of the Association of Audionautes told the New York Times.

Source:
The Register

Permalink to this article

New DVD chips 'to kill illegal copying' (16 September 2006)

FairUse4WM successfully strips Windows Media DRM (25 August 2006)

Norwegian Consumer Council will continue fight over iTunes (4 August 2006)

Carmakers incorporate better iPod compatibility (4 August 2006)

France tones-down plans for DRM-busting law (23 June 2006)

French consumer friendly DRM legislation gutted (3 May 2006)

P2P under debate again in France (7 March 2006)

French court ruled P2P legal for personal use (8 February 2006)

French court bans use of DRM on Warner Music CD (29 January 2006)

EMI boss condemns French move to legalise file sharing (22 January 2006)

French lawmakers support file sharing (22 December 2005)

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Discuss this article!
antomic (Member) 1 August 2006 13:14
my 2 cents on this...Music is part of our culture. It is in everything we do. it shouldnt cost money. [ + quote]
Katzhuu (Junior Member) 1 August 2006 14:28
Heh, no offence but if you are serious about it, then tell me what should cost anything then? Eg. Eating is necessary part of everyones life, why that should cost anything? Opinions like yours just play in the hands of the RIAA and MPAA. [ + quote]
djgizmo (Junior Member) 1 August 2006 15:36
Agreed. Right now itunes has a good 'idea' but until they ditch DRM, they'll never make the big bucks they're looking for. I'd rather pay $2 for track w/o DRM encoded @ 320kbs MP3 vs the $1 128MP4 DRM stricken track. Artist needs to be taken care of, but in this day in age, its all about the labels, not the people who create the music [ + quote]
PeaInAPod (AfterDawn Addict) 1 August 2006 17:53
Kinding adding to the comment of djgizmo. The music site that was operating a online store like it should be was AllOfMP3. I believe the way in which their store was operated, if you wanted a mp3 encoded at a higher pricethan you payed more for it. So anyone who wanted a 128 kbps mp3 could download just that at a $1 but for $2 get a song at 320 kbps. Yahoo has begun selling DRM free music at a higher price. [ + quote]
antomic (Member) 2 August 2006 8:53
no, i dont mean like piracy. I mean like a resaurant having to pay money just to play a song if there's over 15 people. It does cost money, but things like that are part of our everday life. We here music all the time. Why should someone be charged just tohave people listen to your music. [ + quote]
antomic (Member) 2 August 2006 8:57
i donate to artists that i like, not the record companies. I know artists have to make a living, so they deserve it more than the record company does. Instead of buying the song, I would download it. If i liked the artist, I would buy something from them or donate if i really liked them. cough coldplay cough. [ + quote]
gogochar (Senior Member) 2 August 2006 14:53
I'm just gonna keep on buying CDs from FYE! [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 3 August 2006 3:53
and here I was hopeing that other dimly thought out french law that was passed a whaile back was unconstitutional shuks it seems Apple has bought thier results in france L [ + quote]
ofolion (Senior Member) 3 August 2006 9:18
The entire law may have to be re-written?!? Well thats just daft it really annoys me with all these technicalities stop something happening...I hope in the end iTunes have to remove DRM from everything in every country! [ + quote]
tranquash (Member) 6 August 2006 4:48
Am I reading this article correctly??!!! Re-written so these crooks get compensated???? additionally?? And guess who's gonna pay... Mon Dieu, mon Dieu!!! No DRM period. [ + quote]