Both houses of the French parliament were in favor of the new law
The French parliament has accepted a more lenient music DRM law that was proposed in March. Both the Senate and National Assembly approved of the bill, which was in its final stage before it officially became a law. Apple called the original form of the draft "state sponsored piracy." Apple will now be forced to open iTunes songs to other MP3 players manufactured by other companies. Likewise, Microsoft and Sony, both major competitors of Apple, will also be forced to open up their digital rights management technology. However, if records labels and artists support the DRM of one company, they can restrict which systems their music tracks are able to play on.
The original intent of the bill was to stop one company, most specifically Apple, from dominating the music market. Analysts of the bill are not sure if there will be enough of a profit for Apple to remain in the market in France. Even though Apple won a partial battle, the company will stay in the French music market to test the effectiveness of the legal loophole. It will have several weeks to decide what it plans to do, because two political parties in France have filed a constitutional challenge against the law.
Apple must now focus on its legal problems that are occurring in Europe. Norway, Denmark and Sweden are all requesting Apple to open its closed music system or face heavy fines which would then be followed by possible court action.
"Game reviewers fought each other to write the most glowing coverage possible for the powerhouse Sony, MS systems. Reviewers flipped coins to see who would review the Nintendo Wii. The losers got stuck with the job." -- Andy Marken
|
Most Popular Articles(complete holding)Fresh Install from Windows 7 Upgrade is Pirating According to Microsoft November 2, 2009, 9:02 AM Return of the King: AMD HD 5970 Leaks, Looks Poised to Seize Performance Crown November 3, 2009, 4:25 PM Evolution is Favoring Shorter, Heavier Women, Study Says November 2, 2009, 2:50 PM Update: T-Mobile Surprises, Shocks Customers, Showing Them "Boobs" and Porn November 5, 2009, 9:04 AM Study: Win 7 is Lean, But Many Windows 7 Laptops are Badly Bloated October 30, 2009, 2:30 PM
|