EETimes.com – French Senate caves on digital copyright bill — Good to know that even in France they cave in to pressure from the DRM crowd.
PARIS — The French Senate bowed to intense lobbying pressure, approving a watered down digital copyright bill that differs significantly from the controversial version passed at the National Assembly last March.
The new bill is likely to give Apple Computers enough leeway to keep its proprieatry digital rights management (DRM) system used in iTunes and iPod. But consumer advocates and developers of open source software here have called the Senate action late Wednesday (May 10) “irresponsible” for “having thrown away most of the work done by the National Assembly.”
And everything is back to normal! 🙂
I’m still in shock to hear that the French caved……who would believe that the French would do that!!!!!
The Senate voted to keep Ipods in France. What idiots they must be.
You know it seems to me that at one time government would push, business would push back and somewhere in the middle we’d get policy. These days it seems to be business pushes and government says “We should give you more to be on the safe side.” In other words, at least the French tried.
“The French government will give the agency the power to order companies to share details of their DRM system, but companies will be able to refuse to do so as long as their DRM systems are approved by the author or copyright holder.”
So Apple, Microsoft, and Real don’t have to divulge how their DRM works – as long as the owners of the content approve of the controls.
Hmmm. Since online sites are only able to sign contracts to distribute “content” because they can show the works are protected [DRM’d] – what are the odds that the majority of artists/studios would “disapprove” of DRM.
If one artist/studio on iTunes disapproves of DRM – would Apple have to share info?
If one artist/studio on the new Microsoft/MTV URGE system doesn’t like it – Microsoft will have to share info?
http://playlistmag.com/news/2006/05/15/urge/index.php
Any bets that a content-owner who doesn’t approve DRM will not have their content carried on a DRM’d service??
Heck, a few artists already “boycott” iTMS – but mainly because they want album-only sales, not sales of individual tracks [or the royalities are too low]