French lawmakers were set to vote yesterday on a draft law that could radically shake up Internet music sales by forcing companies like Apple, Microsoft and Sony to share their copy-protection technologies.
The vote comes after the National Assembly, France's lower house, last week approved amendments to the online copyright bill that would break the exclusive link between Apple Computer Inc's market-leading iTunes music store and iPod players.
Apple has so far refused to comment on the bill or on analysts' suggestions that the Cupertino, California-based company might choose to withdraw from the French online music market, rather than share the proprietary technology at the heart of its business model.
The bill requires companies to share the secrets of their copy-protection systems so that competitors can offer compatible services and devices. For the first time, the draft legislation could let consumers download music directly to their iPods from stores other than iTunes, or to rival music players from iTunes France.
It would also have heavy consequences for Sony Corp, which uses a similarly exclusive code on its Connect store and Walkman players.
The bill states that proprietary copy-protection technologies must not be an obstacle to interoperability between different systems. It also gives copy-protection systems a firmer foothold in French law.
Anti-copy devices on DVDs and other media had come under repeated attack in French courts for infringing consumers' rights to make copies for fair use.
The new legislation would also introduce penalties ranging from 38 euros to 150 euros (US$50 to US$180) for those caught pirating music or movies at home and 3,750 euros for hackers who disable copy-protection systems. Those caught distributing software for online piracy face fines of up to 30,000 euros and jail terms.
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