NEWS /
|
German and French consumer groups have joined a Nordic-led drive to force Apple Inc. to make its iTunes online store compatible with digital music players made by rival companies, a Norwegian official said Monday. Currently, song purchased and downloaded through iTunes are designed to work with Apple's market-leading iPod players but not competitors' models, including those using Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Media system. Likewise, iPods generally can't play copy-protected music sold through non-Apple stores. Last June, consumer agencies in Norway, Denmark and Sweden claimed that Apple was violating contract and copyright laws in their countries. Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman Bjoern Erik Thon said French consumer lobby UFC-Que Choisir and its German counterpart, Ferbraucherzentralen, joined the effort late last year, and other European countries are considering it. Finland's Kuluttajavirasto consumer group is also part of the effort. ''This is important because Germany and France are European giants,'' Thon said. ''Germany, in particular, is a big market for digital music.'' The Nordic regulators have met Apple officials at least twice on the complaints. ''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,'' Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said Monday. ''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.'' Thon said Norway gave Apple until September to change its polices, or face possible legal action and fines in the country. ''It cannot be good for the music industry for them to lock music into one system,'' he said. A French law that allows regulators to force Apple to make its iPod player and iTunes store compatible with rival offerings went into effect in August. Apple has been working to expand its iPod sales in Europe and said during its quarterly report last week its advertising and sales efforts were paying off. Company officials say the iPod gained market share in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Austria and Denmark during the holiday period. |
Mixx
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
delicious
reddit
MySpace
StumbleUpon
LinkedIn
Apple will give out a free app a week; App Store will update
The iOS App Store hasn't had an update in a while and certainly needs a redesign. The store now contains ...
iTunes 11 with better iCloud integration may be in the works
6 ways to backup mobile data
Sony’s Music Unlimited service heading to iOS
Apple brings in iTunes v10.5.2
Napster to finally rest in peace
Sting turns 60, celebrates with iPad "appumentary" digital scrapbook
Leaked Images, Availability, Pricing,
Specs, Pre-order
Karbonn officially launches the A9 Android smartphone
14 May, 2012, 06:14 PM IST
Supreme Court website hacked in response to TPB, Vimeo block
17 May, 2012, 04:46 PM IST
Sony Xperia P up for pre-order on Infibeam, launching on 25 May
19 May, 2012, 04:32 PM IST
Samsung Galaxy S III pops up on eBay India for Rs. 44,770
22 May, 2012, 11:19 AM IST
16 May, 2012, 11:57 AM IST
The latest "should they-shouldn't they" event with Facebook is the lift of the minimu...
Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatal1ty Champion Review
26 May, 2012, 04:13 PM IST
6.0
Back in the day when audio solutions weren’t integrated into motherboards, people had to go out and buy their own sound cards. They were large
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201 Review
Portable Wi-Fi Drives for your smartphone
Fed up of the limited storage on your mobile device? Here are some devices
Top 5 potential Gmail alternatives
Google’s Gmail service is arguably the most advanced and feature-packed...
Five ways to beat the petrol hike
Petrol prices went up by a considerable amount post Wednesday, and this...
By Karan Shah
SpaceX's Dragon capsule locks up to the ISS
26 May, 2012, 04:18 PM IST
In a moment that is nothing short of being historic, SpaceX’s Dragon capsule has, according to NASA reports ...
Microsoft VP talks about Ballmer's new tech - an 80-inch touchscreen
Cisco won't invest in their Android tablet for businesses
Yahoo! shuts down Livestand 6 months after launch
Giant radio telescope gets split location
776 views
_011517074205_160x90.jpg "Epson Stylus Photo R3000")
Sony to roll-out ICS update next week,...
BlackBerry Curve 9320 announced in India...
Microsoft VP talks about Ballmer's...
Cisco won't invest in their Android...
About Us | Site Profile | Tech2 Team | IBNLive News | IBNLive Hindi News | Cricket News | Indian Stock Market | Policy | T & C
Copyright © 2011, Tech2.com India - A Network 18 India Venture
