“Leading lawmakers have agreed to water down a draft law that could have threatened the future of the iPod in France,” Laurence Frost and Nathalie Shuck report for The Associated Press. “The National Assembly had voted in March to force Apple Computer Inc. and other companies to make their music players and online stores compatible with rivals, but key members now say they have agreed to weaker measures endorsed by senators.”
“Currently, tunes purchased at Apple’s iTunes Music Store won’t play on music players sold by Apple rivals. Likewise, an Apple iPod can’t play songs bought on Napster Inc. or other rival music stores. Critics have called the restrictions anti-competitive and anti-consumer,” Frost and Shuck report. “The draft adopted by the Assembly, France’s lower house, contained a blanket demand that companies share their exclusive copy-protection technologies with rivals, effectively free of charge.”
Frost and Shuck report, “But the compromise, due to be approved Thursday by a committee of legislators from both houses, maintains a Senate loophole that could allow Apple and others to sidestep that requirement by striking new deals with record labels and artists.”
Frost and Shuck report, “A new regulatory authority would be given the power to resolve disputes by ordering companies to license their exclusive file formats to rivals – but only if the restrictions they impose are ‘additional to, or independent of, those explicitly decided by the copyright holders.’ This means that Apple and Sony Corp. could avoid having to share their FairPlay and ATRAC3 file formats, lawyers say, if they obtained permission from the artists whose music they sell… The Cupertino, Calif.-based computer company declined to comment Wednesday.”
More details in the full article here.
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Frogs retreat again.
i wish you where in front of me now and i would show you how a frenchman retreat
you idiot
It’s about time!!!
I respect your intentions but it’s
frenchmen retreat
or
frenchman retreats
France is cool though. The courage of liberalism, and let’s not forget we’d all be speaking French if it weren’t for the Russian’s…
Darn right they better water it down!
The need to water it down more than that, in fact they just better forget about messing with iTMS altogether.
They don’t know if it wasn’t for Apple DRM it would be Microsoft’s and huge licensing fee’s to shut out the compeition formats.
Where the fsck did these europeans go to buisness school?
What can be done to fsck the othr company will be done, simple as that.
M$ could make a DRM tommorrow that would require huge processors made by their buddies. Apple would have to comply and iPod Nano’s could turn into toasters.
STUPID GOVERNMENTS STAY THE FSCK OUTTA BUISNESS, CUSTOMERS WILL DECIDE.
re:ron,
You haven’t been to Canada, have you?
The irony of it all is that the French lost up here as well.
“we’d all be speaking French if it weren’t for the Russian’s..”
what alternate universe do you live in? ?
Static Mesh:
“STUPID GOVERNMENTS STAY THE FSCK OUTTA BUISNESS, CUSTOMERS WILL DECIDE.”
Do you feel this way about monopoly abusers like Microsoft?
Do you feel this way about monopoly abusers like Microsoft?
Well they didn’t do a darn thing against M$ now did they?
Going after Apple is like telling someone there’s a speck of dirt on their t-shirt when they have a giant muddy footprint on theirs.
Now witness the FULL POWER of this fully armed and operational BATTLE STATION!
<i>Do you feel this way about monopoly abusers like Microsoft?
Well they didn’t do a darn thing against M$ now did they?
Going after Apple is like telling someone there’s a speck of dirt on their t-shirt when they have a giant muddy footprint on theirs.
Now witness the FULL POWER of this fully armed and operational BATTLE STATION!
Static Mesh…. I’m feel so deja vue when I read your posts today…
“i wish you where in front of me now and i would show you how a frenchman retreat you idiot”
ok everyone, I dare you to read this missive above to yourself out loud in your best inspector clouseau voice. It will crack you up.
I PHarrrrt in your general direction. Your mother was a hampster, and your father smelt of eldiberries.”
“now go away or I shall have to taunt you a seconnnnda timmmmmuh”
As long as they don’t water down my Grenache-Merlot, Desire Francois, Vin de Pays d’Oc, we’re cool.
“”we’d all be speaking French if it weren’t for the Russian’s..””
I think bob meant, we’d all be eating French dressing if it weren’t for Russian. This goes back to the great Salad wars of 1914.
Thank’s Ampar..you are always the coolest!!
To Milomac: <bow>
Honi soit qui mal y pense?
Ampar,
My translation wiget say’s… Is Honi which badly thinks of it?
I’m so confused! (normal)
Honi soit qui mal y pense, which is the motto of the Order of the Garter. It’s French for ‘shamed be the person who thinks evil of it’. Supposedly, in the fourteenth century, Edward III was dancing with the Countess of Salisbury, and her garter fell off. In response to the snickers of those watching, Edward said “Honi soit qui mal y pense,” and tied the garter around his own leg. The phrase then became the motto of the order, which Edward founded.
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is the oldest and most important of the orders of knighthood in Great Britain. Its head is the sovereign, and the garter (inscribed with the motto) thus appears on the royal arms of Great Britain. As a result, the phrase is sometimes erroneously described as “the motto of Great Britain” or something similar.
The above is copyrighted by someone. Attribution complete. Love the ‘net.
Ampar,
I dont know how but someday this is gonna come in handy!!
Cheers,
m
“This means that Apple and Sony Corp. could avoid having to share their FairPlay and ATRAC3 file formats”
Shudder…..
Ampar:
Nearly right, but no cigar…!
The order of the Garter had much more to do with Edward III’s claim to the throne of France in addition to the throne of England. And in those days a ‘garter’ was more like a belt or strap that held a sword or other armour in place. A clue is in the fact that the patron saint of The Order of the Garter, is St George – who is also the patron saint of soldiers.
The founding of the Garter in the 14th century by the King brought together the English throne and 25 military leaders of the day. Being admitted ot the Garter meant a recognition of loyalty and military achievement. It also meant rights and privileges were theirs for the plundering too. It was in fact, the NATO of the 1300s and sadly, nothing to do with a lady’s garter.
Nice try though… loved the post.
Hmm, o.k. Thanks, charlie. I sit corrected.
Those with obviously abysmal knowledge of history (=making “fun” remarks about the French and Russians comment), look up “Napoleon” in Wikipedia.