James Delahunty
2 Apr 2007 18:04
The European Commission has sent formal charges to Apple Inc. and major record companies, accusing them of restricting music sales in Europe. A spokesman said that Apple and the record labels are violating the European Union's rules against restrictive business practices.
"Consumers can only buy music from the iTunes online stores in their country of residence and are therefore restricted in their choice of where to buy music, and consequently what music is available and at what price," said Jonathan Todd, European Commission spokesman.
Apple said that it has wanted to open a store for the entire European Union, but the advice and demands of music companies has gotten in the way. "Apple has always tried to operate a single pan-European iTunes stores accessible by anyone from any member state. But we were advised by the music labels and publishers that there were certain legal limits to the rights they could grant us," a company statement said.
The Commission's latest action stemmed from a complain made by British consumer group Which?. The group claimed that music downloaders in France pay just 99c ($1.32) per song download while users in the UK have to pay 79p ($1.56) per download.
Source:
Reuters