Norway: iTunes DRM Is Illegal

The Consumer Ombudsman of Norway has decided that the Fairplay DRM that protects songs purchased from the iTunes Music Store from being played on non-iPods is illegal there. It all started when the Norwegian Consumer Council, Forgetaboutit Forbrukerradet, filed a complaint with the Ombudsman about iTunes songs' lack of interoperability with other MP3 players.

The Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman agreed, and wrote a letter to Apple saying as much. What now? Well, the next step will probably be a court in Norway, but an international iTunes/iPod decoupling trend could follow. Said the unnamed Ombudsman,

"iTunesMusic Store must remove its illegal lock-in technology or appear incourt... As of right now we're heading for a bigbreakthrough that will hopefully pave the way for consumerseverywhere to regain control of music they legally purchase."

Norway isn't the only European country complaining about this;
consumers' rights groups in France and Germany are joining forces withNorway in this matter. If it passes over there, consumers' rights groups here might have a better argument for forcing Apple to open up Fairplay. As for Apple, it issued a rare statement on thematter:

"Apple is aware of the concerns we've heard from severalagencies in Europe and we're looking forward to resolving theseissues as quickly as possible... Apple hopes that Europeangovernments will encourage a competitive environment that letsinnovation thrive, protects intellectual property and allowsconsumers to decide which products are successful."

That's sort of tough to read... a "competitive environment" indicatessome willingness to open up Fairplay, and "consumers to decide whichproducts are successful" sounds like Apple thinks the iPod would stillbe the best seller even if other players could play iTunes-purchasedsongs. That said, I expect Apple to resist any forced decoupling ofiTunes and the iPod vigorously.

*On Out-Law
*