They "approved" the "iPod law" to make Apple open up it's iTunes store and make the iPod compatible with other companies! [news.yahoo.com]


French lawmakers approve 'iTunes law'
By LAURENCE FROST and NATHALIE SCHUCK, Associated Press Writers 30 minutes ago
PARIS - French lawmakers gave final approval Friday to legislation that could force Apple Computer Inc. to make its iPod and iTunes Music Store compatible with rivals' music players and online services.

Both the Senate and the National Assembly, France's lower house, voted in favor of the copyright bill, which some analysts said could cause Apple Computer Inc. and others to pull their music players and online download stores from France.



What is going to happen now?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/30/2006 09:07AM by Dennis R.

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Dennis R


What is going to happen now?

could cause Apple Computer Inc. and others to pull their music players and online download stores from France.

I think that Apple has garnered enough of the legal download business that they could open up the iTunes store to other MP3 players and replace the lost iPod sales with enormous growth in music sales. I think that iPod sales are probably going to level off very soon, unless Apple produces some sort of MASSIVE change in the content, delivery, and hardware playback design w/ a reasonable price. For example, if they started providing full movies through bittorrent onto handheld 12" screens that had a 3 day battery life that would do the trick. If they can just put the record companies out of business there is much more money to be made from downloads than from hardware sales.

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> What is going to happen now?

Nothing. When last I checked, the law included an "interoperability" loophole that made it utterly meaningless.

I havn't taken the time to read it, but if it forces Apple to provide an application that will un-drm their songs. Forget it. They won't do it. They'd likely pull out.

Then everyone would be using that application since they wouldn't be able to limit it to just France.

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Security is just a word. The act of being secure is entirely different.
"...but I think that to make your dream a reality, having a dream itself is a mandatory prerequisite"
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Just because it has two clutches, shifts faster, uses a torque converter or has near-infinite gear ratios, requires less driver intervention and is more efficient doesn't make it better in my opinion.
Save The Manual Transmission

This sounds like the sort of legislation that might be applied to a utility company.
The question is, does the incompatibility of iPods/iTunes with other MP3 players and music download services affect the quality of life of non-iPod owners enough to warrant such legislation?

> The question is, does the incompatibility of iPods/iTunes with other MP3 players
> and music download services affect the quality of life of non-iPod owners enough
> to warrant such legislation?

In the U.S. we have a"social contract" mentality (or we used to -- now corporations and government seem to just get everything)... Anyway, the contract struck in intellectual property fields is supposed to be an even exchange where the creator gets a *temporary* monopoly on his work so long as the public ultimately reaps the benefit of the use of each work. The underlying sensibility is that one must strike a balance of sorts between the needs of society and the selfish desires of artists i order to encourage artists to create.

In moral rights countries, they have a slightly different concept going. They took away monopolistic rights from publishers and from the sovereign and gave those rights to creators more to keep a check on the sovereign than to benefit the public. It amounts to an underlying sensibility of "let's punish the rich guy." Whenever someone gets enough power, they want to take that guy down. Hard.

So, yeah. I think that almost any European country could easily decide that Apple has to open up Fairplay. But it has little to do with the rights of consumers.

I just want iTunes to work with other players.

1- As noted above, the law has no teeth. Basically the French have surrendered and declared victory. There is, of course, a large historical precendent for this type of action.

2- ITMS cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, replace the revenue stream from iPod sales. Let's do the math-
1 Billion songs in 3 years. Gross sales of $1 Billion. Annual Gross Sales of $333 M Payout to Record companies is what, 75% ? 1st level net sales of $250 Million. ITMS provides Net Sales of $83M.

Apple Gross sales in 2005 - $13,900 M
"ipod sales are 40% of Apple's sales", ergo $5,560 M

To match those numbers, ITMS will have to sell 16 times as many songs in a year. And their business model is now being attacked by people with WAY deeper pockets than little 'ol Napster.

Sorry, not bloody likely they will give up that line of business.

3- iTunes "DOES" work with 'other players'. It's just really, really an ugly process- buy song, export to CDRW, reimport as MP3 file, save mp3 file to non iPod. It's the tight integration that makes the iTunes / ITMS / iPod such a winning product line. Requiring integration with 'other players' would be a breach of Apple's long standing technological direction. Think about it- Macs are so functional because there is that tight integration between hardware and software, and both are under FULL control of Apple. Step away from that, and you're in the Windows driver hell world.

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cbelt3
1- As noted above, the law has no teeth. Basically the French have surrendered and declared victory. There is, of course, a large historical precendent for this type of action.

Wait...you're saying that France SURRENDERED?!?

The French? Surrendered? Sacre Bleu Cheese!

And there's some sort of historical precedent for France surrendering?

Who knew?

"For sale: French army rifles. Never fired, only dropped once."