Apple's current iTunes licensing headache in Europe started with Norway, and then Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, and the Netherlands all joined in. Now the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman says that the terms and conditions at the iTunes Store violate Norway's laws and have to change. Even when you look only at Norway, it can be tough sorting out who the players in this game are.

The Consumer Ombudsman
Norway's Consumer Ombudsman is an official government agency tasked with enforcing the Marketing Control Act and some aspects of the country's advertising in broadcasting regulations. The organization works with companies to ensure that they comply with Norway's regulatory framework.

The Consumer Ombudsman looks at cases based on complaints from consumers and companies, and also launches investigations on its own. The organization works to get companies to voluntarily comply with regulations, but will go to court if agreements can't be reached.

The Consumer Ombudsman works directly with the Market Council - a court that has jurisdiction over the cases the Ombudsman investigates. Both the Consumer Ombudsman and Market Council have the authority to issue decisions that prohibit what they consider to be contract terms and conditions or marketing practices that violate Norwegian laws.

The Consumer Council
This organization is also part of Norway's government, and is responsible for protecting the interests of the country's consumers. It offers guidelines for businesses and consumers, creates and guides consumer political views for industries and authorities, and also helps consumers file complaints against businesses.

Consumers typically contact the Consumer Council when they need assistance dealing with a dispute involving a single company. Consumers contact the Ombudsman for industry-wide issues.

Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands
These countries all have similarly crafted laws governing terms of use licensing, and have thrown their support behind Norway. Sweden and Denmark joined with Norway at about the same time the Consumer Ombudsman first told Apple that the terms and conditions at the iTunes Store violated local laws.

These countries are following Norway's lead, and will likely take Apple to court over licensing terms should Norway do the same.

France and Germany
The French UFC-Que Choisir and German Ferbraucherzentralen consumer unions have voiced their support for forcing Apple to open the iTunes Store to MP3 players other than the iPod.

France enacted its own law in 2006 to require companies to share their DRM technologies with each other, but the final version was neutered and provided ways for companies to keep their proprietary technologies to themselves.

Apple
Apple's iTunes Store became the focus of Norway's Ombudsman earlier in 2006 because the FairPlay DRM in songs downloaded from the online music store isn't compatible with music players other than the iPod. Apple has no interest in opening the iTunes Store to competitors, but Norway has other plans.

Consumer Ombudsman Bjorn Erik Thon ruled in January 2007 that Apple must change its policy or face legal action. Torgeir Waterhouse, senior advisor at Norway's Consumer Council, commented "iTunes Music Store must remove its illegal lock-in technology or appear in court."

The response from Apple was "Apple is aware of the concerns we've heard from several agencies in Europe and we're looking forward to resolving these issues as quickly as possible. Apple hopes that European governments will encourage a competitive environment that lets innovation thrive, protects intellectual property and allows consumers to decide which products are successful."

Mr. Thon contends that all music players should be able to play any song, regardless of the service it is downloaded from.

The impact of the outcome from Norway's fight over iTunes Store licensing will extend far beyond Apple since other companies are using their own proprietary DRM, too. The latest addition to that camp is Microsoft with its Zune-only music service. The Zune and its music service aren't yet available in Europe, but should be expected to comply with the same standards forced on Apple and the iTunes Store.

Norway's attempt to control the music download market and force standardization on the companies that are selling online songs could, however, backfire. Instead of more options, consumers may be faced with a shrinking number of choices should companies like Apple shut down their Scandinavian services instead of sharing proprietary DRM technologies.