Please help us by taking our survey
ipod

06/01/2007, 1:25pm, EDT

Friday, June 1st

EU: Apple yet to answer antitrust claims

Apple has yet to respond to antitrust allegations that are the result of an inquiry launched April 3rd, according to European Commission officials. Central to the issue is a concern over restrictions that disallow customers of the iTunes Music Store to purchase tracks meant for a country other than the one from which they are connecting to the Internet, causing price differentials between intra-eurozone and extra-eurozone. The European Commission's deadline for a response from Apple is midnight on Monday, June 4th -- two months after the start of the investigation.

Two areas left out of the EU officials' statement on Apple's lack of a response involve DRM concerns and any suggestion that Apple holds an unfair dominant market position.

In a statement to issued at the start of the investigation, Apple officials denied that anything was done in violation of EU law, and claims to have desired a pan-European iTunes store, but was advised by record labels that this would conflict legally with copyrights.


Filed under: iPod

, , 6comments, del.icio.us, slashdot, digg, buzz


6 comments
Reader Reactions (Please use <i></i> for italic text)

subscribe to comments
for this article




Expand All   Global Settings
Give it a break EU
0
06/01, 2:53pm, EDT
Come on, lay off Apple. There's bigger fish to fry. They are making very positive steps with this whole DRM issue and allow them to be a dominant player in at least ONE market. Good grief.

I might add, Apple is dominant due to the quality and desire of the product, NOT because companies and individuals are locked-in like the way Microsoft dominates!!
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined May 2001
User is offline
hmmm...
0
06/01, 2:56pm, EDT
I think I read that wrong... Is the article saying the EU is not commenting about DRM and iTunes being a dominant player?

In that case, hopefully they'll continue to be quiet. ;-)
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined May 2001
User is offline
I don't think they get it
0
06/01, 5:42pm, EDT
These limitations exist because of licensing issues. It is beyond the control of Apple to deal with it. The EU should take it up with the music industry or shut the hell up.
Senior User
Joined Jul 2004
User is offline
Re: I don't think...
0
06/02, 7:44am, EDT
They get it. They also know there's is absolutely no reason for Apple's DRM to be limited to just Apple, except for Apple's own bottom-line. It easily could be licensed to be used by other players, and they would be happy. Apple wouldn't, though, because they would then have actual competition for the ipod.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined Nov 2000
User is offline
nat
bottom line?
0
06/04, 12:49pm, EDT
like that's a bad thing? actual competition? smurfman has it right, the ipod is where it is because of choice. windows is where it is because of antitrust and a lack of knowledgeable consumers. thousands of thousands of web sites exist where you need a ms product to fully use it, whether it be ie or windows media player. there is absolutely no reason why this has to be except for the fact that ms does not and will not play with others so they make their stuff proprietary. for what? well, their bottom line...
Junior Member
Joined Mar 2002
User is offline
Your Comments

In order to post comments: If you are a registered member, please login with your MacNN Forums username and password otherwise please uncheck the checkbox below.


Registered Member?
macnn forums login:

macnn forums password:

Not a member of the MacNN forums? Register now for free.

Buy from the Apple Store The Apple Store: Get great deals on the iPod video, iPod Radio Remote, Refurbished iPods starting at $79, iPod shuffle or iPod nano with free engraving, other iPod accessories for the road, or education discounts on iPods.

Check Out the VIERA from Panasonic!: Enter a New Visual Era with Panasonic VIERA HDTVs. An Enhanced Experience.

Get an IT Degree Online: Get solid credentials. Take your hobby to the next level. Adult Programs. Affordable.

Convert PDF to Word: Easily Convert PDF to Word Doc, Excel, and More. Fast and Accurate. No Registration Trial

Check Out the VIERA from Panasonic!: Enter a New Visual Era with Panasonic VIERA HDTVs. An Enhanced Experience.

NewsGator Enterprise RSS: Improve Corporate Communication via Web 2.0, RSS, and Social Computing.


Buy from The Apple Store, iTunes.com, Amazon.com, TechDepot, OfficeDepot, Computers4Sure, or donate.