Norway declares Apple’s iTunes illegal

Despite what some of may you think, we aren't getting ready to do our "I Told You So" dance. The Jerkoff is making a big mistake following in Microsoft’s footsteps and playing the heavy. M’soft can afford to lose a few hundred million in fines. No sweat. But Jobs can’t afford to…or can he?

Apple was dealt a blow in Europe yesterday when Norway’s powerful consumer ombudsman ruled that its iTunes online music store was illegal because it did not allow downloaded songs to be played on rival technology companies’ devices.

The decision is the first time any jurisdiction has concluded iTunes breaks its consumer protection laws and could prompt other European countries to review the situation.

The ombudsman has set a deadline of October 1 for the Apple to make its codes available to other technology companies so that it abides by Norwegian law. If it fails to do so, it will be taken to court, fined and eventually closed down.

Apple, whose iTunes dominates the legal download market, has its proprietory system Fairplay. Songs and tunes downloaded through iTunes are designed to work with Apple’s MP3 player iPod, but cannot be played on rival devices.

Torgeir Waterhouse, senior adviser to the Norwegian Consumer Council, who originally launched the complaint, told the Financial Times he was in negotiations with pan-European consumer groups to present a unified position on iTunes’ legality.

Sweden and Finland have already backed Norway’s stance, but have yet to take action, and Mr Waterhouse said the campaign was joined on Wednesday by Germany and France.

“We are satisfied the Federation of German Consumer Organizations and the French UFC Que Choisir are addressing this important issue. It means that iTunes is now being told by more than 100m European consumers to offer them a fair deal,” he said.

Apple signalled that it would fight efforts in Norway and elsewhere in Europe to pry open the iTunes service, though it struck a more conciliatory tone than early last year when it attacked a proposed French law as “state-sponsored piracy”.

“Apple is aware of the concerns we’ve heard from several agencies in Europe, and we’re looking forward to resolving these issues as quickly as possible,” it said in a statement. “Apple hopes that European governments will encourage a competitive environment that lets innovation thrive, protects intellectual property and allows consumers to decide which products are successful.” Yeah, yeah. Sure you do.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1fc40360-abe9-11db-a0ed-0000779e2340.html