In June the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman ruled that the terms
and conditions for iTunes were unlawful and that the fact that only
iPods can play iTunes files was anti-competitive. The company was
given until 21st June to respond to the iPod compatibility
question.
Apple requested and was granted an extension until 1st August.
It has now filed its response and requested that it be kept secret.
That request is being assessed by regulators, though consumer
rights advocates are urging that the case be conducted in
public.
"We find this highly unfortunate as we feel that all the
information and arguments put forward in this very important case
should be available for all interested parties," said Torgeir
Waterhouse, senior advisor at Forbrukerradet, the Consumer Council
of Norway.
The Consumer Council of Norway took the case in the first place,
and OUT-LAW revealed in June that parallel cases in Sweden and
Denmark were underway and that Norway's lead was likely to be
followed in the other Scandinavian countries, since the legal
systems are very similar.
"The iTunes case is very important for consumers everywhere
since it directly addresses the struggle for consumer rights in the
digital sphere," Waterhouse told OUT-LAW. "It is our view that the
consumer should be able to follow the different developments of
this case as it progresses. We do of course respect Apple / iTunes'
need to preserve their own interests, but full secrecy is a
dramatic step to take and we really hope it will be possible to
make at least some of Apple / iTunes reply publicly available."
A 50-page response was submitted by Apple, and Swedish
regulators told Associated Press that a decision would be reached
by Friday on whether or not some portions could remain secret.
Apple spokespeople did not tell AP why it had requested
secrecy.
The action in Scandinavia mirrors legislation in France designed
to force Apple to allow iTunes-bought songs to be played on any
device. A controversial section of a new copyright law is designed
to force inter-operability between all song buying services and all
devices.
That section of the law was first watered down and may now be
rewritten by France's Constutional Council, which says that it
could breach the French Constitution.
Disclaimer: We hope you find OUT-LAW’s content useful. It’s prepared by the lawyers at Pinsent Masons. Please remember, though, that it’s intended as general information only. It’s not legal advice. If that’s what you’re seeking, please
contact us. See also: our
full disclaimer
