14 DAY TRIAL // Bruce Willis is reportedly planning to give Apple a piece of his die-hard mind regarding his rights as a loyal iTunes customer. The actor, best known for his explosive action films, is deeply in love with his music collection, and he doesn’t want it to go to waste.
Apparently, Mr. Willis has bought thousands of dollars’ worth of music for his iPods, but he cannot transfer his collection over to his daughters, as the iTunes end user license agreement forbids it.
After discovering that he doesn’t actually own the tracks (the music labels do), and that he is 'borrowing' them under a license, Willis is said to have pondered taking legal action against the Cupertino, California-based Apple Inc., according to reports from several tabloids.
If the actor’s arguments prevail in court, the impact could be huge for millions of customers worldwide, as well as for the entire music industry.
The Daily Mail quoted solicitor Chris Walton as saying, “Lots of people will be surprised on learning all those tracks and books they have bought over the years don't actually belong to them. It's only natural you would want to pass them on to a loved one.”
Walton added that “The law will catch up, but ideally Apple and the like will update their policies and work out the best solution for their customers.”
The iTunes Terms and Conditions state that “Apple is the provider of the iTunes Service, which permits you to purchase or rent digital content (‘iTunes Products’) for end user use only under the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.”
“You agree that the iTunes Service and certain iTunes Products include security technology that limits your use of iTunes Products and that, whether or not iTunes Products are limited by security technology, you shall use iTunes Products in compliance with the applicable usage rules established by Apple and its licensors (‘Usage Rules’), and that any other use of the iTunes Products may constitute a copyright infringement,” the document adds.
Update: it appears the story has been refuted by the actor's wife, Emma Heming-Willis.