France approves iTunes DRM bill

French lawmakers today agreed on the softened draft law that threatened Apple's iPod/iTunes ecosystem. The original bill was dubbed "state-sponsored piracy" by Apple, and the latest version of the law includes a loophole for digital music vendors that offers record labels more leverage. Under the new bill, a regulatory authority will hold the power to resolve disputes by forcing companies to license their exclusive file formats -- such as Apple's FairPlay and Sony's ATRAC3 -- to competitors, but only if the restrictions they impose are "additional to, or independent of, those explicitly decided by the copyright holders," according to the Associated Press. The U.S. government backed Apple in its fight against the new law in late March, saying that companies need to protect their intellectual property.

Filed under: industry
Other story tags: digital music/video