US government supports Apple stand on French law
By Marc Perton 
posted March 23rd 2006 6:30PM
posted March 23rd 2006 6:30PM
In what's shaping up to be the biggest
Franco-American battle since US lawmakers renamed their favorite side dish "Freedom Fries," the US government
has now declared its support for Apple in the company's dispute with France over DRM interoperability. US Secretary of
Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, questioned about the case on CNBC, declared
that he would "compliment [Apple] because we need for companies to also
stand up for their intellectual property rights. At issue is a draft law that would
require Apple and other companies to open up their DRM to competitors or allow consumers to do so on their own, so that
music purchased in an online music store could be played in any manufacturer's digital audio player. Earlier this week, Apple referred to
the French bill as part of a "state-sponsored culture of piracy." While Guiterrez didn't say whether
the US government would do anything specific on Apple's behalf, he did say that it's a good policy to "have the
government work with other governments." We assume this will continue to escalate, and it'll only be a matter of
days before French students start burning iPods in the streets and Americans retaliate by torching Archos Gminis. And
it looks like the cafeteria in Cupertino will have to start serving iToast for breakfast.
Hey guys, Apple isn't a monopoly on the mp3 (or AAC) market because they don't oblige people to buy music through them. With iPods, they just give an application which is part of the device and can give all the satisfaction the buyer wants : ripping his CD, listing mp3 and syncing it with the music player. iPods are made to run with iTunes and its all. In addition, iTunes is includind the possibility to buy music which will be only playable on several iPods and computers. You know it, you can deactivate the music store thumb, you can store other mp3 on itunes and play it on ipod. There's no monopoly, just devices (ipod + itunes) and services (ITMS).
Condamning Apple for its DRM is not logical because its not a monopoly as Microsoft was when they were selling Windows Media Player automatically with Windows and Windows automaticaly with pc's...
And for the toyota thing up there, buying music on itunes and putting it on your ipod is more like buying gas in a toyota station and only be able to put it on your toyota. It's not like you're gonna be dependent of ITMS with your iPod ;-). But it's a bit like you're gonna have to use itunes (or your toyota doors) to use your ipod (or toyota).
At first, no government was condamning Apple for letting only macintosh users using its iPod, it changes. Maybe it's just a question of time and interest for DRM too and it's Apple right to code it like they want.
Hope I will be understandable. I'm kinda french people, i'm belgian
And while I'm at it, in the end it's a win win for the record industry. Why?
*Apple's format helps the industry sell more of the same stuff that people already had on CD, but most of those CDs skip now...
*A standardize DRM format helps them limit even more with digital downloads. Just look at all the different DRM now, and look at who's the "best of the worst" and the Industry will pick the "worst of the worst". Oh and they get more money rom the open "ITMS wars"
*And all this won;t matter because in the future when a new format is created after the "iPod bubble" pops, the indrustry wll jump there and everyone re-buys everything again(see VHS to DVD or cassettes to CDs).
So yeah, you can see why all this doesn't matter, because the industry will win anyway, laughing to the bank.
#94.. Not you again o rly.. Can you read? I currently own three diffrent MP3 players.. A Samsung, a Sony, and an iPod.. I typically only use the iPod becasue, well, it is the best engineered player of the three.
So, what do you actually own? What brand, and what music service do you use (if at all). You are very quick to call eveybody a fanboy, and my suspision is that you are a big time Microsoft fanboy who hates Apple everything (and probably the Sony PS3, and PS2), and love everything that is M$... Your posts have zero information in them that are of value.. Yeah, my guess is that you are a teenaged, pimple-faced, Microsoft loving dork.....
I understand people who are concerned about having hundreds of songs in iTunes and what would happen if they started using a different player in the future. This is a vaild concern, but needs to be put in perspective.
I have close to 1500 songs in iTunes. I imagine that is more than the average music listener (but am sure there are people who have alot more than that). I can, today, burn all of those songs onto a standard DVD (holds about 4.7GB). Dual layer DVD's hold close to 9GB. Future DVD formats such as Blu-Ray, or HD-DVD hold, on average, 50GB..
My point is that, while you still have to burn the music onto a format such as DVD, it is not difficult, and ensures that you can move your music with you in the future...
@ 103 / Thill : "and my suspision is that you are a big time Microsoft fanboy who hates Apple everything"
Yes, that would be your suspicion because you're an iPod fanboy. In your world, 'not loving an Apple product' == 'loving Microsoft,' and sadly that's not true.
I'm not a Microsoft fanboy (which everyone who doesn't like an iPod according to some iDiots) nor an Apple fanboy (like Engadget, and other fools on here that didn't even read the whole article), that's why I know that the law isn't even against Apple, but you iPod fanboys think France is targetting Apple for some reason (for evidence, look at the 3+ blogs on Engadget about this, you'll see a plethora of uninformed iPod fanboys.)
You've already proven you're an iPod fanboy in denial Thill, your post history reflects that, iDiot.
#105.. o rly.. But you didn't answer my questions.. What player do you use, what OS are you using it on, and what music service do you use?? If I am such a huge iDiot (wow, your brain must have worked overtime to copy, uhh, I mean, come up with that one), what superior player and service are you using? Please inform us... Afraid to tell? Scared?
No company should suffer because its consumers are idiots. There would be no companies left.
And last I heard, France was a party to the Berne Convention.
Oh come on. To all you people saying it's their choice how to run it, if people don't like it they can switch, etc. Do you realize they're doing the same thing as Microsoft? Using their majority share in one product (iPods) to push another product (iTunes/music store). Plus, they're making it very inconvenient to switch to another music player.
this is odd... for once I am rooting for the anti-piracy team in support of my ongoing anti-france/luxembourg campaign.
(note: I am not racist, I was just once robbed in Paris, and luxembourgians just cause me grief at my job and drive like bungholes, good crepes though.)
"4. #3, I don't think they're the same."
Yes this is the same law. Supposedly it prevents piracy by opening up more options but if you pirate (or worse, aid it) you will be fined heavily and jailed. I like how people here dont realize this is the same law (i guess they dont go to videolan.org very often). Bye bye VLC.
@ 106 / Thill : Actually Thill, seeing as I'm a Microsoft fanboy (according to some dumbass iPod fanboy) I'm using my Microsoft PMP-XP running Windows CE-PMP edition and I download & 'own' my music from MicrosoftMusicService.com which runs on my PC which is using Microsoft LongVistaHorn. Of course I don't oppose this "French Law" as it is only against Apple, and not anything Microsoft is involved in, that's because the French government is against Apple!
and yes you are an iDiot and you probably always shall be as long as you continue to think a dislike for an Apple product means the approval of Microsoft, dumbass. Maybe you should ask 'The Hague' for some help as well in your next reply, although 2 iPod fanboys posting on Engadget isn't much from 1, they will probably follow each other.
#112. Thanks for coming clean o rly.. I had a feeling you were a Microsoft fanboy, and I am glad to see that you did not let me down..
If you hate Engadget so much, why do you post here? There are plenty of pro Microsoft web sites out there for you to drool over.,,,, Why don't you try looking for them using your fabled Microsoft search engine (which I am sure you feel is far superior to Google)...
Later M$ fanboy....
March 04, 2002 11:40 am ET
MacCentral
Jobs: Record companies should loosen their grip
By Peter Cohen pcohen@maccentral.com
Apple CEO Steve Jobs offered a critical view of the recording industry in an interview, following Apple's acceptance of a technical Grammy award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences last week. As reported by Don Clark of The Wall Street Journal, Jobs suggested that recording labels need to make it easier for consumers to use their own music however they want.
"If you legally acquire music, you need to have the right to manage it on all other devices that you own," said Jobs.
Jobs also told the interviewer that Apple believes more than 80 percent of consumers are willing to pay for digital music, "But there is no one offering you a choice."
Recently Apple has drawn criticism from Walt Disney Co. president and CEO Michael Eisner. Eisner accused Apple of fostering piracy with its "Rip, Mix, Burn" ad campaign as he testified before a congressional committee last week.
Different voice now ;)
The French are right about this one and putting consumers first. Go France!!!!! Apple is just looking for more sales revenue and not at pleasing the customer. Shame on Apple and the law makers that are backing them. Music sales in the States are going to decline if the US doesn't consider a similar law.
France is a third world ghetto with their leaders thinking thru their ass. Apple should get out of France and Frogs
Quote: "... just a quick analogy. Imagine a government forcing Sony to make its Playstation 2 play Xbox games."
In fact that would be be very good for consumers. No need to buy several consoles anymore in order to just play a specific game.
You shot yourself in your own foot with your anal ogy, Tony!
Well first I must say: anotherguy, you are a retard.
Apple isnt trying in any way to help their consumers, just make more money by selling crippled music who needs an iPod-wheelchair.
Though they aren't telling anyone about it.
Well Im getting an Archos...
That's all you got Thill? I guess your brain was working overtime too with all the copying.
simple design, simple UI, for simpletons like yourself. Keep up with the iDiotic analogies that you can't explain, and remember not to read whole articles, it's the making of iPod fanboys like you.
Later iDiot fanboy....
2 Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 2
Monopolizing trade a felony; penalty
Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $10,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $350,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding three years, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.