Norway declares iTunes illegal
Apple was dealt the first of most likely many blows on Wednesday as Norway’s ombudsman ruled that their itunes online music store was illegal.
This stance comes about because songs downloaded from itunes won’t work on rival mp3 players, they will only work with an Apple iPod. It therefore goes against consumer protection laws. This is the case in most European countries and my hunch says this just might be the beginning as other countries will look to follow suit. Sweden and Finland have infact already given their support to Norway but have yet to take legal action.
The Norweigan Ombudsman has set a deadline of October 1, far too long in my opinion, for Apple to comply with regulation and make their songs playable in any device. If it fails to to do, they will eventually face closure by court action.
(more…)