“We’re not specifically targeting iTunes Music Store DRM – MSN Music was explicitly mentioned in our original complaint together with CDON.com, Music Online.no and Prefueled.com and we are asking that their conditions also are evaluated against Norwegian law. This has been in there since the original filing”, says Torgeir Waterhouse, senior advisor to the Norwegian Consumer Council (Forbrukerrådet),” Tatle reports.
“Since, however, iTMS is the leading store for online music also in Norway, iTMS has been picked to test the waters of the Norwegian Marketing Control Act; legislation passed by the Norwegian Parliament in the spring session of 2005 where consumers can legally break copy protection of CDs to play them on ‘relevant equipment,'” Tatle reports.
More information in the full article here.
Well now, this is much more interesting with this information. It’s good to see the whole concept is being challenged, not just Apple’s iTunes. We hope this will be a good test to see if Norway finds that consumers can legally break iTunes Music Store’s FairPlay DRM to play the songs that they supposedly own on “relevant equipment.” Once you’ve legally bought it once, you should be able to play it on any of your devices, right?
FYI, if iTunes did not offer a way to strip off the DRM by default (not counting third-party apps) by burning an audio CD, we’d have a major problem with iTunes and the iTunes Music Store. As it is, we think iTunes DRM is pretty well balanced and doesn’t overly complicate things for those wishing to use what they’ve purchased in legal ways. Yes, we would prefer that nobody ever pirated music and that DRM was deemed unnecessary, but that’s simply not the case. Overly-restrictive DRM on legally-purchased content is an issue upon which to keep a watchful eye.
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Related articles:
Apple’s iTunes Music Store faces fresh legal attacks from Norway and Sweden – June 09, 2006
Norway complains about Apple iTunes Music Store – June 07, 2006
Consumer Council of Norway files a complaint regarding Apple iTunes Music Store’s terms of service – January 27, 2006
Apple’s vs. Microsoft’s music DRM: whose solution supports more users? – August 17, 2005
If iTunes offers a way to legally strip off the DRM, is DRM absolutely necessary in the first place? Surely the record companies are quite aware of iTunes’ ability to make DRM-free cd’s.
wha?,
Any DRM can be cracked. The DRM is necessary, but the way Apple uses it (with the music labels permission) is to slow down and impede massive, easy automatic piracy and still not hinder the average consumer.
That’s the balance MDN talks about in the Take above. Apple has struck a good balance with FairPlay.
When you sign the user agreement prior to purchasing songs from iTMS, you agree to their restrictions. Plain and simple, if you don’t like the agreement, don’t sign it and don’t buy from them. I don’t see it as any different from other contracts that you agree to when you purchase something.
It gets kind of old when people sign the agreement, purchase from iTMS, then bitch because there are restrictions.
A reminder to those of you that have forgotten: Apple put the DRM in place because the recording industry would not let them sell songs without it.
I don’t know. Maybe its just that when you go to work for a government agency your brain starts to leak out your shoes.
More Law suits.
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I don’t think that the sun shines as much on Vermont as it does on Texas. We need to sue.
I think that all tv’s and other things with remotes should all work the same. Why do I need a remote for each device? I think we should sue.
I am tired of thinking about suing everyone. Why can’t we have someone who sits around all day thinking of REALLY STUPID things to sue about??
Sue those who have no control.
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Lets sue the local gas station for charging federal taxes.
Lets sue the local grocery if the oranges don’t look orange enough for us.
Lets sue lawyers if they can’t sue the other lawyers and win.
Lets —- aw to heck with it, this is really stupid.
Sue the boy called Sue.
Go after the SOURCE of the DRM, the recording industry!
It will save time vs. going after each and every company that sells music and was required be the record labels to use DRM.
Yorktown,
My point is that DRM is not a foregone conclusion. Just because Apple and the music labels FEEL that it is necessary, that does not make it so.
I challenge you to show me a study that proves that DRM is actually stopping the ones that are actually likely to steal.
And how is it slowing down and impeding massive, easy automatic piracy? Before DRM, a person bought a CD, ripped it to their computer, then shared it with others. They still had to rip a CD one at a time. The only difference now is that you have to burn a CD first, which you should be doing anyway to create a backup in case your harddrive fails. So tell me again how DRM is preventing anything?
Yorktown has got it right on. The idea is to impede easy piracy. I would go a step further to saying what they are trying to do is to get people out of the habit of automatically thinking everything on the ‘net is free and easy.
Bottom line is, you can still find ways around the DRM, I think more than anything they are trying to make it just enough of a hassle that it isn’t worth circumventing the DRM.
On the other hand, people buying from iTunes should be making CD backups anyway since once you’ve downloaded it, you really should be backing it up…..right?
Norm e., what’s your point? The government of Norway is attempting to protect and enforce the principle of “fair use”, which, once upon a time in an idyllic America of long-ago yesteryear, was the official policy of the US government. When businesses encroach on the legal rights of consumers, it is entirely proper that the government should enforce its laws protecting those rights. Some countries still have democracy, as opposed to the government-by-the-highest-bidder system we’re implementing in America. Now, I’m a big fan of Apple, and I hold the record and movie companies, not Apple, accountable for DRM and increasingly egregious attacks on the principle of “fair use”. As long as governments address the entire issue, and don’t just target Apple, I have no problem with it. If a legal and technical standard could be developed that would both hinder piracy and preserve fair use, I’m sure Apple would be first to adopt it. In fact, Apple has already struck an admirable balance within the restrictions imposed by the record companies. If pressure from other governments (heck, why not our own government?) can loosen the music industry’s deathgrip on fair use, it might just benefit us consumers in the US and Apple as well.
Makikthize,
This reply is just to clarify my previous comment. There is no malice or rudeness intended.
—-Norm e., what’s your point? The government of Norway is attempting to protect and enforce the principle of “fair use”, … ..
Sorry, I thought the point was pretty straight forward.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> iTunes does not make it difficult to buy a tune and play it on any other player. I do it all the time. iTunes or cd, they go on my computer in iTunes and come right back out on cd or mp3 player. NO PROBLEM. If you want a company to do something, direct them to do that, not poke and prod at odds and ends that have nothing to do with your issue.
—-Apple has already struck an admirable balance within the restrictions imposed by the record companies. If pressure from other governments (heck, why not our own government?) can loosen the music industry’s deathgrip on fair use, it might just benefit us consumers in the US and Apple as well.
Absolutely. You said it. Apple is doing a great job, better than Microsoft which DOES NOT play on iTunes. So SUE MICROSOFT or the Music industry.
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Please do not get me or others here wrong. I think we all would rather have things even easier to use, access, etc. If you or I complain, its just us. But to have a government complain, then I would hope that the issue is REAL and makes sense. I have to wonder, especially after the French debacle, what does Norway really expect to happen here? Is this just for show to appease some small but vocal group within the country??
Just my 2 kopecks worth.
Norm e. –
I guess what prompted my response to your post was the clarification by the Norwegian government that they are NOT just going after Apple. Initial reports implied that Norway was unfairly targeting Apple. Now that it’s clear that Norway is, in fact, tackling the whole issue of fair use and not just picking on Apple, I think we all can rest a bit easier and cut Norway some slack. Maybe I read too fast, but it didn’t seem clear in your post that you understood this. I thought you were simply pooh-poohing consumer protection and complaining that Norway was being overly litigious. I, for one, wish the US Government would join the battle to protect fair use. Obviously, the first targets should be the content providers. Unfortunately, this would probably require a rewrite of the DMCA, which seems unlikely to happen any time soon. It’s pitiful, just pitiful, that countries like Norway and France have to lead the way in the area of consumer protection.
Majikthize: Some countries still have democracy, as opposed to the government-by-the-highest-bidder system we’re implementing in America.
No doubt our government officials are massively corrupt, but don’t assume that the USA is a democracy (as we keep being told — over and over).
Not a democracy now, never was a democracy, and was never intended to be a democracy. It is (and it is supposed to function as) a Constitutional Republic. Huge difference!
But they keep telling us that the USA is a “democracy” — why? So the government can take your unalienable rights and grant you privileges instead. Privileges can always be modified or revoked at the pleasure of the grantor.
Bottom line: more power for the government (which was created by the people to serve the common needs of the people) and less power for you!
Oddly enough, Norway was just hit by a massive meteorite…
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1346411.ece
Nick:
Sounds like an omen to me, hands off the DRM or space debris will fall on your heads in apocalyptic proportions.
Clarification –
“Not a democracy now, never was a democracy, and was never intended to be a democracy. It is (and it is supposed to function as) a Constitutional Republic. Huge difference!”
Pardon my semantic sloppiness. What I meant was “a government that actually represents the will of its citizens.” I don’t give a darn what you call it.
Majikthize: What I meant was “a government that actually represents the will of its citizens.”
Are you currently aware of any government that has that attribute? I’m not talking about the claims made by their politicians, I’m referring to what the government actually does!
[rant]
I’m tired of this DRM protest shit. Music is never going to be released for free by companies who spend millions on the business.
Get over it already.
And then look at other DRMs and you’ll realise Fairplay is the least restrictive DRM you’ll likely come across.
And if you don’t like DRM, go buy the flippin CD, and STFU.
[/rant]
There, i feel better now….
MW: Justice – hah, how ironic….
Clarification –
It’s a matter of degree. The US has been better and it’s been worse. I think we all know which way it’s been going in the past few years, especially in the area of consumer protection.
SK –
It’s the attempts to put DRM on CDs that really scare me. If we can’t rip our CDs, it’s game over for fair use.
Majikthize: No disagreement with you there!
You’re obviously intelligent and observant to some of things currently going on around us — most aren’t.
Have a great weekend!
Just pull the store from Norway…. they would all be to drunk to notice anyway!
DRM is a necessary evil and Apple’s does almost unnoticible harm. If you don’t own an iPod you have the option of acquiring music from a number of sources other than ITMS. If you DO have an iPod you STILL have the option of acquiring music from a number of sources INCLUDING the best online store: Apple’s. The big question is can I take my ITMS purchases and listen to them via a device other than those sold by APPLE. The answer is an unequivical YES. I don’t even know why this is an issue. The only people complaining have to misrepresent reality (LIE) to make it seem like a problem. The Scandinvian countries are marvelous places and the people are wonderful ( I am in Denmark now). They are not, however, immune to mistakes in policy-making (just ask the guy on the street). Governments should not regulate what will sort itself out through normal market pressure. And DRM is one of those things that will sort itself out. Apple’s ITMS and Fairplay are the world’s dominate digital music store because, in reality, the DRM does NOT interfere in the average user’s enjoyment or fair use of the product. That’s it… bottom line. When someone does it better, they will take market share from Apple. But history shows that no DRM invites piracy, and when the money stops flowing the whole structure of music production will fail and the question DRM will be moot because no one will make the effort and expend the money to make and distribute music recordings. It’s really quite simple, but there are those that think Utopia is a real possibility. It’s not.
Its the government that thinks they need to “protect” the citizens from doing something STUPID, like buying a song from the Apple iTunes store, that you need to watch out for.
Being Norwegian (and also named Bjørn!), here’s my take:
As mentioned, the Consumer Council, in their original complaint that they asked the Ombudsman to review, also suggested that the he should look into the other music stores as well. But in this letter of complaint, it is only the terms of iTMS that are explained and criticized. The other music stores are only listed at the end of the letter.
The Ombudsman reviewed the compaint, and wrote the now (in)famous letter to iTunes. There’s no mention of any of the other music stores in the letter, or in the shorter statement at the Ombudsman’s website.
The consumer authorities have unfortunately left the clear impression that only Apple is to blame, and that it’s Apple who should change their terms, open up their technology etc. The stuff about the other music stores is barely mentioned at all.
There are some odd claims. The council says: “The sole purpose of this type of DRM is to lock consumers into buying products from a dominant market player.”
Hello?? When Apple decided to use Fairplay, it was because they needed a DRM to sell music online (blame the record companies). Of course they didn’t want MS-DRM, and why should they have been forced to use it? And it’s not even available on OS X.
Apple had their own Mac users in mind, fearing they would be left out in the cold. So they made their own format, based on the MPEG-4 industry standard, adding their own DRM, which is better suited to Apple’s view of the online music store business (read: simplicity).
Besides, the other devices haven’t been made with the MPEG-4 in mind anyway, their producers wanted to use WMA. So how are they supposed to play AAC? I guess by exporting from AAC/Fairplay to WMA/MS-DRM from iTunes? Which can’t be done on OS X, only Windows users are so lucky!
Is it even possible to keep the restrictions intact in moving in the opposite direction, from MS-DRM to Fairplay? MS-DRM has more ways of restricting the use than Fairplay.
According to the council and the ombudsman, consumers “are free to circumvent technical protection systems in order to play legally acquired works on appropriate players”. This is a twist the Norwegian lawmakers added when adapting the Copyright Act to the EU directive.
However, according to a couple of lawyers writing in a business paper, this is not so simple. In the parliament debate last year, the current minister of cultural affairs, then a member of parliament, said that this “only applies for CD over to mp3”. He also said that the exception will not be valid for electronic files bought over the internet.
The lawyers suggest clarifying the law. Also, the exception itself might be in violation of the EU directive, and is being looked into by a supervising organ.
what ???
No stupid French bashers today … when it’s Norway or Sweden, nobody comes saying they’re loosers.
Actually the French Gov wanted the same thing, being able to use itunes purchased music anywhere.
Don’t forget that Apple has invented and applied first great concepts, made some money for a while and then got wiped out by PC/windows/micro$oft… There is a high risk for this again, look what’s happening in video and HD DVD : micro$oft provides an easy kit to manage DRMs and Apple keeps everything “in house” with no Soft. Devlpt kits to offer to the programmers, so instead of inventing one, programmers go to the easy one : cro$oft DRMs…