14 DAY TRIAL // The issues Apple has been facing in Europe regarding the interoperability of its DRM and the license agreements of the iTunes Store have been around for some time, but it looks like they are slowly going away.
At the start of this week, Apple held a four-hour long meeting with representatives from Sweden, Denmark and Finland and Norway. And it seems that the negotiations made 'surprising progress' towards ending the disputes. "Our meeting was much more constructive than I expected it would be," said Bjorn Erik Thon, director of the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman's office.
While things are definitely moving forward, there is only so far they can go before things need to change in a big way. Apple would have to change the iTunes Store business model, as well as have them accept liability for damage caused to computers by the iTunes software and a revising of the policy that the contract terms can change after purchase of a song, not to mention Apple's assertion that English law can apply to purchases in Norway.
Many of the issues are more complex than might seem at a first glance, but the good thing is they only need to be sorted out once. That's because all of the counties present have similar consumer protection laws and have agreed to follow Norway's lead on the case.