Apple defends iTunes-iPod compatibility
Apple has struck a defiant stance with Scandinavian regulators, staunchly defending its right to make its iPod the only portable music player compatible with songs purchased from the company's iTunes music store.
Norway's consumer agency on Wednesday released non-confidential portions of Apple's 50-page response to their claims that the company is violating contract and copyright laws in their countries.
The Norwegian regulators expressed disappointment with the limited concessions offered in the response, received Tuesday. In Sweden, Bjorn Smith of the Swedish consumer society said that Apple had "given in to some demands but not to others."
In June, the consumer agencies in Norway, Denmark and Sweden claimed that the iPod maker's product usage restrictions go against Scandinavian laws. At the time, the Scandinavians said they were considering taking the Cupertino, Calif.-based company to court, possibly seeking an injunction banning iTunes from their markets.
Apple's letter indicated it is not willing to change its business model by opening its iTunes downloads to rival portable players that cannot play music recorded in the iTunes digital format.
Apple's iTunes also face trouble in France, where Parliament passed a hotly debated law on Internet copyright in June that could force Apple to make its iPod player and iTunes online store compatible with rival offerings.
However, a French court last week threw out some measures of the law, leaving it now to French President Jacques Chirac to decide whether to sign the bill with the court's changes or send it back to parliament.
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