iTunes over-pricing charge
p2pnet.net News:- Apple iTunes ‘overcharging in UK’, says a BBC headline.
But in North America, it’s apparently perfectly acceptable for Apple to rack up different prices – both exorbitant – for its mp3 downloads.
The company has just launched an unwanted and unnecessary iTunes site in Canada, where it’s not illegal for people to share music.
Nonetheless, it expects Canadians to cough up a dollar – 99 cents (41p in the UK), to be precise – for an inferior, lo-fi version of one of the 700,000 songs its offering, courtesy of the Big Four music label cartel which supplies them.
Ninety-nine cents Canadian converts to about 83 cents US (51p in the UK), 16% less than the amount US punters are forced to pay.
But no one seems to find that unusual.
However, they’re not so complacent in Britain where, recently, Which? (the Consumers’ Association that was) asked why people there have to pay more than others in France and Germany for the already grossly over-priced Big Music tracks – that’s to say 79p (about $1.42, or 120 euro cents) against 99 euro cents (68p, about $1.22) in France and Germany.
The over-pricing charge was referred to Britain’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT), but the OFT has now passed the buck to the European Commission on the grounds, “the Commission was better placed to judge on the matter because ‘Apple iTunes operates in more than three European Union member states’,” says the BBC.
It doesn’t say whether or not Apple will be forced to reimburse people it will presumably have overcharged if the EC decides the price difference is indeed unfair.
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See:-
cough up – Apple’s iTunes Canada online, p2pnet, December 3, 2004
complacent - Apple iTunes ‘overcharging in UK’, BBCÂ News Online, 2004
December 3rd, 2004 at 11:43 pm
Agenda? I find it hard to believe that p2pnet.net is listed as a “news site” by Google News.
It’s a dubious interpretation of Canadian copyright law to say that downloading copyrighted works is legal.
But leaving that aside, it is clear that downloading music and providing zero compensation to the people involved in creating it is wrong.
December 3rd, 2004 at 11:48 pm
He said *it’s not illegal for people to share music*not that downloading is legal.
December 4th, 2004 at 12:07 am
Putting your personal music files into a directory which might be, “accessible by other computer user(s) via a P2P service” isn’t illegal in Canada (http://p2pnet.net/story/1118).
In Canada, “A Private Copying regime was created under which the unauthorized copying of music for private use was legalized, and the recording industry was then able to levy blank media such as blank CDs – whether they were used for music or not. This regime made any downloading of music from the Internet or other sources – including receiving music from P2P services, or even copying music for personal use from CDs borrowed from a public library – entirely legal in Canada.
“It’s ironic to now hear the industry claiming a policy it specifically requested is hurting it. And yet we’re expected to trust the record label cartel with future reforms.
“Unauthorized uploading or distributing music online isn’t currently legal in Canada.” Russell McOrmond – digital-copyright.ca (http://p2pnet.net/story/3122).
Cheers!
December 4th, 2004 at 10:38 am
What’s the problem here? A basically socialist coalition of countries that has a mostly common currency and laws about unfair competition? Or a music industry that is still trying to enforce regional distribution licenses?[1]
This whole thing is absurd. Why shouldn’t I be able to use my UK credit card to buy music from the US iTunes site while I’m travelling in Germany? The actual product is identical so we’re only talking about flows of currency.
[1] And differential pricing between the USA and Canada really is absurd. How the hell do they enforce that?
[2]And look a whole comment and I haven’t mentioned a certain Russian download site once.
Note that they’re prices are in US Dollars and the same worldwide…
December 4th, 2004 at 12:14 pm
also from uk
David Versus Goliath Battle Over iTunes
Apple Computers Takes on Small Business Over the Ownership of
ITUNES.CO.UK, case to follow hot on the heals of Office of Fair
Trading criticism of Apple’s pricing policy.
CyberBritain Holdings Ltd, the internet company founded and run by
Benjamin Cohen (founder of soJewish and one time teenage dot.com
millionaire), registered the domain name ITUNES.co.uk on the 7th
November 2000, as one of a series of generic domain names to forward
to various parts of what was then CyberBritain’s network of websites.
From 9th Novemeber 2000, the ITUNES.co.uk domain name forwarded to
CyberBritain’s music search engine service.
Unknown to CyberBritain, Apple Computer Inc applied for a trademark
for the name “ITUNES” on the 27th October 2000. The details of the
application were strictly confidential and only known to Apple, their
filing agents and HM Patent Office. It was not until the 6th December
2000, that their application was published in the Trade Marks Journal,
a crucial four weeks after CyberBritain began using the ITUNES.co.uk
domain name. Apple were later granted a restricted trademark on 23rd
March 2001, which did not include the use of ITUNES for music
products.
CyberBritain continued to use the domain to forward to its music pages
throughout 2001,2002 and 2003. On 16th April 2003, Apple Computers Inc
applied for a trademark for the name “ITUNES MUSIC STORE” for classes
including music, they have yet to be granted the rights to the name.
Apple did not launch their ITUNES service in the UK until June 2004,
almost four years after CyberBritain first registered the ITUNES.co.uk
domain name.
CyberBritain, innocently registered the ITUNES.co.uk domain name and
used it for four years before it was contacted by Apple Computer Inc’s
solicitors in November of this year. Apple have now issued Nominet
proceedings (domain authority) to gain control of the ITUNES.co.uk
domain name.
CyberBritain now forwards the ITUNES.co.uk domain name to a music
promotion on its associated website, QuickQuid.com.
Benjamin Cohen, the CEO of CyberBritain Holdings Ltd said, “Apple have
accused us of being cyber-squatters, something that we obviously could
not be, as our registration of the ITUNES.co.uk domain name pre-dates
the time that any information about their ITUNES service would have
been in the public domain. They are using their status to unfairly
claim an asset of an entirely innocent, British small business.”
December 4th, 2004 at 1:41 pm
This sight sucks. i am never going to come here again. it is always on to Apple and itunes, which is great
December 4th, 2004 at 1:45 pm
This site is for idiots -
December 4th, 2004 at 5:49 pm
Ah. The dark, eldritch, “Cult of Apple” strikes again.
December 6th, 2004 at 3:34 pm
“This site is for idiots -”
That must be why you’re reading it then right?
That said, the figures in this article could do with some checking.