[demograph68]

Link

Apple is kidding right?

[ghporter]

Nope, they're not. And in a way I agree with Apple. Of course it's extremely easy to get around the limits placed on music content by the iTunes-iPod linkage, but with those limits at least Apple shows an attempt to prevent pirate music distribution. By delinking them, Apple's DRM becomes irrelevant, Apple would probably have to add other types of DRM handling to the iPod, and chaos would ensue (at least at the market level).

I can also see the point France is making. They're equating the iTunes-iPod linkage with the Windows-Internet Explorer linkage that the EU sued Microsoft over-and won.

[production_coordinator]

Why would they be kidding?

The music companies will begin to withhold music if their music isn't protected. If the law passes, I simply see the French iTMS either closing or being reduced to a fraction of what it currently is.

[Eug Wanker]

I think a better law would be so that Apple doesn't have to give up the DRM. It could just licence it to Samsung or Creative or whatever.

[demograph68]

But the music is still being protected. It just won't be limited artificially the way Apple wants it to be. You're right that it might be lost market share. So what? This is about the rights of the consumers.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by demograph68

But the music is still being protected.

They've already had a difficult time protecting their files from the Hymn project. If they're forced to give people the code to crack FairPlay, the word "protection" is kind of stretching it.

[cpt kangarooski]

The music companies will begin to withhold music if their music isn't protected.

I doubt it. There's probably enough money to be made in the French market that they would cave. In any event, why shouldn't the French get to regulate business within their borders, and decide on their own copyright laws?

That said, I think the proposed reforms are bad, but only because there's a lot of other stuff riding along with this which is considerably worse. The DRM thing though? It's nothing. I wholly favor wiping out DRM everywhere.