Friday, March 17, 2006
French Copyright Law Finished - Now What Happens?
Posted by Jason Dunn in "NEWS" @ 11:22 AM
"French deputies finished drafting a law on Friday that would open up Apple's iTunes online music store to portable music players other than its popular iPods. The new law, now set for a vote on Tuesday, would allow consumers to legally circumvent software that protects copyrighted material -- known as digital rights management (DRM) -- if it is done to convert digital content from one format to another. Government officials said the law was aimed at preventing any single media playing operating system, whether Apple's iTunes or Microsoft's Windows Media Player, from building a dominant position."
Ok, so one of two things is going to happen here: either Apple will open up iTunes and Fairplay to other non-iPod players, or Apple will pull the iPod from the market in France and cede the 60 million person market to another player. It's difficult to say which will happen - Steve Jobs doesn't like giving up on any market, but by the same token, the iTunes + iPod power cabal is the most powerful force in Apple's resurgence and I have a hard time believing that Jobs will allow it to be opened and give iTunes customers a choice. What do you think is going to happen here?
Ok, so one of two things is going to happen here: either Apple will open up iTunes and Fairplay to other non-iPod players, or Apple will pull the iPod from the market in France and cede the 60 million person market to another player. It's difficult to say which will happen - Steve Jobs doesn't like giving up on any market, but by the same token, the iTunes + iPod power cabal is the most powerful force in Apple's resurgence and I have a hard time believing that Jobs will allow it to be opened and give iTunes customers a choice. What do you think is going to happen here?
