Apple DRM declared illegal in Norway

Filed under: Apple

Apple DRM declared illegal in Norway

by Grant Robertson Jan 25th 2007

The tables have turned on iTunes propreitary DRM after an appointed ombudsman ruled the not-very-protective protection scheme illegal under Norway's consumer protection laws. Some of the most encouraging anti-DRM words I've heard may be contained in the following quote from Senior Norweigein Consumer Council Advisor Torgeir Waterhouse who said flatly, "iTunes Music Store must remove its illegal lock-in technology or appear in court," adding, "As of right now we're heading for a big breakthrough that will hopefully pave the way for consumers everywhere to regain control of music they legally purchase."

Progressive Northern European countries have led the way in choosing consumer rights over corporate protection. This ruling comes at a time when DRM is under fire from all directions and at least one major record label is rumored ready to give up the fight and submit to unencrypted mp3 based distribution of digital music.

Whether Apple fights this ruling or decides to close its iTunes Store in the country remains to be seen. Regardless, this should be seen as a significant victory in the war on DRM.

Tags: DRM, Fairplay, iTunes

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

McAster said 5:19PM on 1-25-2007

I do dream of a future where iTunes uses music that isn't locked.

I know iTunes is mainly there just to sell iPods, but at this point it would still be worth it if all MP3 players could play music bought from them.

Din said 5:20PM on 1-25-2007

The scenario that many years from now Apple may cease to exist, go bankrupt, or may decide not to support iPods any longer is not impossible. We all thought Enron was healthy.

I can not imagine how I would feel if after 20 years, when I have amassed terabytes of songs from Apple's iTunes store, I will be left with no options to play them because Apple had locked the songs to the iPods, which could face the hypothetical demise.

Ankher said 8:01PM on 1-25-2007

GO NORWAY!! YES!

Why doesn't the US do this?

Oh, right, 'cause A) Apple might have influence over Congress who B) are more worried about other stuff

James said 11:41AM on 1-26-2007

Dear Norway,

Please, please, please apply this precedent to Vista's content protection "features" ASAP. Like, tomorrow.

KTHXBYE!

Featured Time Waster

Civiballs is a beautiful, soothing physics puzzle Time Waster

I have an absolute weakness for physics games, and while Civiballs isn't the strongest physics-based game, what it lacks in the physics department it makes up for a few times over in style and fun.

In Civiballs, you are presented with a few colored balls, and your goal is to get those balls into the same-colored urn on the level. The "civi" part of Civiballs is that there are 3 sets of levels to play, each representing a different civilization. While the civilization doesn't affect gameplay, the artwork for each level is beautifully themed to it's appropriate era.

To play the game, you are given only one tool - a sword with which to cut the chains that are holding the balls. The puzzle part of the game is in figuring out what order, and with what timing to cut each chain. Do it right, and all the right balls end up in the right urns, with no stray balls entering an urn (a no-no). Do it wrong, and you get to start over again.

Civiballs is not terribly deep on gameplay; the entire game can be completed in about 15 minutes. But if you enjoy this type of game, it will be a very enjoyable 15 minutes.

View more Time Wasters