James Delahunty
1 Aug 2006 8:22
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