Apple Snubs French DRM Legislation

Apple has broken its silence regarding France's move to require interoperability between DRM platforms, arguing it amounts to encouraging "state-sponsored piracy."

Apple spokesperson Natalie Kerris broke the companies silence on the French interpretation of the EU Copyright Directive working its way through the country’s National Assembly. In a statement, Apple said, “The French implementation of the EU Copyright Directive will result in state-sponsored piracy. If this happens, legal music sales will plummet just when legitimate alternatives to piracy are winning over customers.”

Some observers have predicted the law, if enacted by the French government in May, could mean the end of the iPod business in France, as Apple would have to at least consider shutting down its iTunes Music Store in France, or perhaps restrict the material it can sell: Apple’s agreements with major record labels likely prohibit the company from selling unprotected versions of music, or selling into markets which require Apple’s DRM technologies be “openable” by anyone. Apple contends that if interoperability is required, it will only take a short time before tools to crack DRM schemes