Support Our Site
Get Better Gear!
- Kensington Windshield/Vent Car Mount with Sound Amplified Cradle for iPhone from Kensington, $39.99
- SigFx Energy iPhone Case Contains Smart Battery from SigFx Energy, US$69.95
- NAVIGON AG - True GPS Software for the iPhone from NAVIGON Inc., 89.99
- Tweetie 2 from atebits, $2.99
- Snood: Flawed Casual Play from Electronic Arts, US$3.99
Premier Sponsors
Top 5 Free Apps
iTunes New Music Releases
Top 5 Paid Apps
Discover New Music
- Bauhaus
Go Away White is an album I've been waiting more than 20 years to hear, and the good news is that it was worth the wait. The latest -- and last, no...for real this time -- album from
- Mystics Anonymous
- Mystics Anonymous is the brainchild project of Jeff Steblea, a fantastic songwriter and good friend of mine, as well. In fact, I even played the drums on all but one of the tracks on this album. Jef
Music Has The Right To Children
- Boards of Canada
- This one will haunt you. From the first notes to the last, their sound surrounds you. BOC has put out a fantastic catalogue, and this album is a great starting point for a new listener. Jump straight
- R.E.M.
- In the long series of R.E.M.'s evolution, this album (finally?) showcases their ability to capture on tape what had been happening in the live for years: heartfelt, sweat-filled performances that just
- Rush
- We all know it, right? Well, ya just gotta have it. 2112 finally showed Rush out on their own, doing their own thing, and doing it well, IMHO.
Reader Specials
Visit Deals On The Web for the best deals on all consumer electronics, iPods, and more!
News
Norway Ombudsman Says iTunes DRM Is Illegal
Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 at 2:00 PM - by Jeff Gamet
Norway's Consumer Ombudsman has ruled that Apple's FairPlay digital rights management technology violates the country's laws by locking songs downloaded from the iTunes Store to the iPod. OUT-LAW.com reports that the Ombudsman wrote a letter to Apple warning that the its DRM technology must be opened to competitors.
Torgeir Waterhouse, senior advisor at Norway's Consumer Council, commented "iTunes Music Store must remove its illegal lock-in technology or appear in court. As of right now we're heading for a big breakthrough that will hopefully pave the way for consumers everywhere to regain control of music they legally purchase."
Norway's government determined that DRM is considered a part of the contract terms for downloading music, and not just copy protection. As such, FairPlay falls under the Norwegian Marketing Control Act requiring balanced and fair rights for the consumer. In this case, "balanced and fair" is being interpreted to mean that music purchased at the iTunes Store should be directly supported on all MP3 players.
Bjorn Erik Thon, Norway's Consumer Ombudsman, first notified Apple that the licensing terms for downloaded songs conflicted with the country's laws in June 2006. Apple was given until August 1 to reply to the complaint.
Mr. Thon feels that the only options open to Apple are licensing FairPlay to any company that wants to produce iTunes Store-compatible players, develop an open standard DRM technology with other companies, or drop its DRM technology completely. He did, however, miss another option open to Apple: Shutting down Norway's iTunes Store.
Removing the copy protection technology that is already in place probably won't sit well with recording labels that are already concerned about music piracy and slowing CD sales. But the idea of selling DRM-free songs is something that the labels are at least beginning to think about.
The situation in Norway is likely to get sticky for Apple and other legitimate music download services, especially since Sweden and Denmark are supporting Norway, and recently French and German consumer groups began openly showing support, too. Should Norway force Apple to open its DRM technology, the move would eventually cascade out to other companies using proprietary copy protection schemes, including Microsoft and Sony.
Recent Headlines
- Apple TV 3.0.1 Update Fixes Missing Content Bug
- Taiwan Leak Shows Verizon UTMS/CDMA iPhone for Q3 2010
- iPhone Moves Into RadioShack
- Dictionary, Dictionary, Dictionary, And More
- The Latest App Store Games: Gravity Sling, RocketBird, Ground Effect, Checkers!
- iPhone Game Developer Sued for Collecting User’s Cell Numbers
- Apple May Be Bringing RFID to the iPhone
Post Your Comments