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.

I know it is incredibly difficult to crack DRM in some cases. Now that DVD Jon has cracked the iPod, but it doesn't matter to me that much. Many times a poorly executed DRM system can be bypassed with almost no effort, but some of the well-coded ones can be hard (i.e. the iPod and iTunes "FairPlay" DRM). It is isn't that I don't appreciate the effort of it, but I really don't see the point of it. Is it really going to help the music sharing problem go away, is it going to stop all the lawsuits by the RIAA? I know that many iTunes fans will download the crack and use it, what are the chances that anyone will get caught using it right? I feel like this is just another trip around the circus ring. I still maintain that the music problem (meaning DRM, sharing, digital rights) is not any better. I don't care who cracks what anymore. Call me obscenely critical, but come on, when is the bouncing-fairy dance going to end? The issue hasn't improved for either side in my not-so-humble opinion. What do you think? Are you sick of hearing about DRM, sick of having to do all kinds of dumb things, jumping through hoops to be to use your music, when clearly record companies are clinging to a dying business model with their dollar-clenched fists? I want problem resolution, I want results, and I want to see real change in the industry. Are there reasons why the cracking and repatching and recracking of DRM and its minions is a good thing that will drive change and usher in the new world of music downloading utopia? If you have a good reason that cracking is a good thing in this case, please let me know, but right now I just don't see it.

The Haz-Mat suited activists of DefectiveByDesign gained quite a bit of exposure when they waltzed into Apple stores across the country carrying signs and informing customers about the rights they give up when buying DRM controlled music from the iTunes Music Store.

Our sister site, The Digital Music Weblog (she prefers to be called TDMW for short) caught up with the crafty folks at DefectiveByDesign for an interview about Digital Rights Management. DefectiveByDesign is an offshoot of the Free Software Foundation, the non-profit organization that maintains and defends the GNU General Public License, better known for providing the legal framework under which the myriad Linux distributions exist.

If you have any concerns about your rights in a digitally encoded future, you should read this interview. The folks at DefectiveByDesign aren't alone when they predict a bleak digital landscape ahead, where the content providers and device manufacturers are able to lock you in, and keep you from buying competing products by holding your media hostage.