Both houses of the French parliament, the Senate and the
National Assembly, last month passed copyright legislation which
has severe implications for Apple. The law sought to force online
shops to sell music that would play on any device and devices that
played music from any other shop.
Currently, music bought at Apple's iTunes shop can only be
played on that company's iPod player. The French law sought to
change that, but was modified as it passed through parliament to
enable Apple to bypass its demands with the permission of the music
copyright holder.
Now, the law may be changed radically by the Constitutional
Council or might have to be rewritten and re-passed by parliament
altogether.
The Constitutional Council reviews all laws after they have been
passed to ensure that they do not conflict with the French
constitution. One of the protections afforded by the constitution
is a protection of property, and it was on this basis that the
Council rejected some aspects of the law.
A 12 page legal finding was published by the Council late last
week and it referred principally to the 1789 Declaration on Human
Rights, part of which protects property. The document said that any
companies forced to make music playable on any device should
receive compensation because the firm would be sharing copy
protection technology it had built itself.
The constitutional review did not throw out the principle of
enforced interoperability, though. Apple may still have to allow
others some access to its iTunes system.
"It is good news for Apple because they receive monetary
compensation, but much bigger bad news if it forces them to license
iTunes," Jean-Baptiste Soufron of the Association of Audionautes
told the New York Times. The Association opposes copy
restrictions.
