French Open DRM Move May Follow in Denmark

While the French move for DRM interoperability has Apple on their toes, it still needs to go from bill to law, and even then, it would only apply in France, so even if the worst came to worst, it would not be such a major problem. However, it seems that other European countries might follow the path of France.

In Denmark, Maersk and the country's largest telecommunications company, TDC, have spoken out in favor of France's movement. The two companies are not only some of the largest in Denmark, but also in Europe, and both of them also operate online music services.
While the French law is not Apple-specific, and would force everyone to pen up their DRM, it is Apple, above all others, that stands to loose. Apple has so far retaliated by stating that this move is more likely to actually help sales of the iPod devices rather than hinder them, but it would also give piracy a second wind.

Such a law would open up the iTunes Music Store to everyone, regardless of their device, and would also allow iPod users to use services that, so far, have remained out of their grasp.

Henrik Olesen, product manager at Maersk's Dansk Supermarked, told Danish-language Politiken.dk that interoperability would be a win-win situation. "We would like to ask the politicians to follow the route they're taking in France, so that it becomes as easy as possible for the consumers to purchase music legally. This will in the end mean larger gross sales for all music stores," he said.

Likewise, Gert Rieder, CEO of TDC, said that "We can only press for something like the French, because it gives the consumers as many opportunities to shop for music."

The Danish Minister of Culture, Brian Mikkelsen, stated that legislation concerning this matter would be introduced in 2007.