Apple ignores Norway ‘No DRM’ demand
p2pnet news view Music | DRM:- Get stuffed, Apple boss Steve Jobs has told Norway.
Metaphorically speaking, of course.
The country’s consumer ombudsman Erik Thon gave Apple until November 3 to respond to demands that it break the exclusive link [read DRM] between its iPod music player and iTunes iPod loader, p2pnet posted in September.
Response from Apple?
Zip.
Now, “Norway has made it official,” says the iPod Observer. Thon will, “take Apple to court, or to the ‘Market Council,’ to be more precise, over Apple’s refusal to open up FairPlay to third party digital media devices.
“The announcement follows the passing of a November 3rd deadline that Mr. Thon had given Apple to comply with his country’s demand that Apple open up iTunes downloads to all players.”
Unless Apple gets its act together and dumps the DRM, “(at least for Norway), it’ll be subject to fines in the six figure (Euros, mind you) range,” says CrunchGear, and:
“That’s not exactly something Apple wants to deal with, I’m guessing.
And it gets worse.
“Should Norway win its case and actually start fining Apple, there’s a good chance that the European Union will get involved,” says the story, adding:
“It’s one thing to upset the Norwegian consumer ombudsman, but it’s a whole different matter when you’re dealing with Brussels. Just ask Microsoft how pleasant it is dealing with those guys.”
Stay iTuned.
p2pnet – Norway escalates iTunes DRM battle, September 30, 2008
iPod Observer – Norway to Haul Apple to Market Council Court Over iTunes, November 6, 2008
CrunchGear – Norway to Apple: Get rid of the iTunes DRM, or else, November 7, 2008
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November 7th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Do you think Apple really cares if they have anybody in little Norway as a customer? They’ll just close up shop and take their offerings to the rest of the world and let the little snits in Oslo (particularly Thon) stew and whine in their own juices!!! WAH–WAH!!!!!!!
November 7th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
I’m not sure what’s expected of Apple here. Apple is not using DRM just for fun. The labels are requiring Apple to use it. If anything, Apple should sue the labels for allowing other vendors to sell DRM free music, but not Apple. The only alternative would be to make Fairplay available to all other vendors. The problem is, Apple has to consider more than just the music market, but also the video market as it uses the same scheme there. If Apple were to make it’s DRM publicly available, it would be much easier to crack. The point being, Apple is being put in a touch position here. The real answer would be for countries to abolish DRM in general. Then, the record labels, etc. would begin to feel the pain and be forced to comply.
In the scheme of things, losing music sales in Norway would seem to be rather insignificant. Losing all of Europe might be another story. Time will tell.
November 7th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Apple is hoping this will just go away.
Time for them to wake up. If they support other mp3 players it would increase iTunes store demand.
All Apple needs to do is set requirements for the 3rd party players so they can lock the device’s music up to keep the RIAA happy.
Really 50% of this issue is Apple and the other 50% is RIAA
November 7th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
I suspect that Apple has been put in a pinch. Not by the Norwegian charge to remove it’s DRM but as mentioned by Steve, Apple’s contract with the majors requires it. The major labels would love to renegotiate a new contract so they could raise prices that Apple charges. That’s been the thorn in the major’s side ever since they figured out they should have charged more because it set the price for the digital download to be 99¢ in the customer’s expectation for pricing.
The labels have tried before to force Apple to raise the price and Apple refused. Apple doesn’t need the music market as much as the music market needs Apple for online sales. So when Apple didn’t cave in, then they tried getting competition going that might put the pinch on Apple to fall in line. That competition hasn’t been accepted by the public as well as has iTunes market.
So I suspect this is about more than DRM even though DRM is the claim to bring this about. Now I don’t know anything about Thon. Maybe he’s straight up in his political standings but if politicians in Norway are anything like those in the US, then politicians here manage to speak different things out opposite sides of the mouth. This is just the sort of thing they would jump on to look good while pushing a corporate agenda.
November 8th, 2008 at 12:53 am
While the labels are the people who imposed the DRM requirement on Apple, which requirement caused Apple to create its DRM technology called FairPlay, it is probably Apple’s decision alone to refuse to license FairPlay. According to Steve Jobs, âApple has concluded, that if it licenses FairPlay to others, it can no longer guarantee to protect the music it licenses.â So its seems to be a decision by Apple alone.
Hmmm. Job says “no longer guarantee …” I have to wonder whether Apple would have ever guaranteed to the labels that FairPlay would always work no matter what. Did Microsoft make that sort of promise to the labels in terms of licensing their DRM systems? I wonder whether this is a lame excuse put forward by Apple to defend their continued exclusive use of FairPlay so long as the labels continue to demand DRM of Apple. Apple apparently fears losing sales of iPods (if they licensed FairPlay) more than losing sales at iTunes (if they continue to refuse to license).
So the Norwegian controversy might will be aimed at Apple’s refusal to license FairPlay on some reasonable and non-discriminatory basis rather than whether or not the labels made them impose some form of DRM in the first place.
November 8th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
” The problem is, Apple has to consider more than just the music market, but also the video market as it uses the same scheme there. If Apple were to make itâs DRM publicly available, it would be much easier to crack. ”
Already been cracked.
So that can’t be the REAL issue.
November 9th, 2008 at 5:22 am
A blessing for Apple to force the labels to let Apple sell DRM free tracks.
November 10th, 2008 at 4:11 am
“Hey, Norway, Get Real!! Says:
November 7th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Do you think Apple really cares if they have anybody in little Norway as a customer? Theyâll just close up shop and take their offerings to the rest of the world and let the little snits in Oslo (particularly Thon) stew and whine in their own juices!!! WAHâWAH!!!!!!!”
Yeah… Norway today EU tomorrow. Besides the monopoly laws are quite similar in all of Europe so if it passes in Norway it will pass in the rest of Europe. And at that point the can really ask Bill & the boyz how much they stand to loose. What was it, about 250 000⬠/ day that thye didn’t change the product. 10 days = 2,5 million â¬. And I have a feeling they don’t have a scheme in place in case they have to drop Fairplay.