Keyword: Technologie en recht

Apple's tight control over the FairPlay DRM system has caused many iPod users to complain that they cannot play certain files on their iPod, namely the files they bought from other online services, using a different DRM system. The proprietary control over FairPlay is also a thorn in the flesh of iTunes rivals who sought various ways to get around FairPlay's lack of interoperability. The French enterprise VirginMega tried it the legal way and so did it come that Apple's FairPlay was probably also the first case in which a competition authority in Europe had to decide if access to a Digital Rights Management system can be enforced on grounds of competition law.

France is one of the European countries where a particularly vivid public discussion about DRM and the private copying exception took place. This is thanks to the efforts of French consumer organisations taht initiated a number of court cases dealing with complaints of consumers about CDs and DVDs that could, among others, not be copied and ripped because of technical protection measures in place. This article discusses that latest DRM decision in France, a decision that went one step further than its predecessors when dealing with the difficult question of the relationship between DRM and private copying.