In a recent interview in the International Herald Tribune, the French minister of culture reaffirmed his country’s plans to promote interoperability in music formats. Donnedieu de Vabres’s solution to updating France’s copyright law to meet European Union copyright standards far exceeds the bare minimum - it requires that Internet music file formats be playable with a variety of devices and software. The law, which passed France’s National Assembly in March, requires companies using copy protection to share “information essential to the interoperability” of their formats.
Apple, of course, is not too happy. The law would effectively kill iTunes in France because it would force Apple to disable its DRM protection for music files. Other companies like Sun also worry about open source software, as the law criminalizes developers whose products enable piracy. In response to Apple, de Vabres says, “I have absolutely nothing against iTunes, and this is not some payback or protectionism against a foreign company." And to the open source proponents, he assures: “We attach very, very, very, very much importance to open source software.” He notes also that the Ministry’s computers all run open source programs. However, the diversity that comes from allowing anyone to listen to digital music on any hardware best promotes France's cultural policy.
And while de Vabres respects iTunes – he claims to own an iPod himself – he feels that Apple’s model for music distribution is already outdated, and hopes his novel legislation impels companies to find better solutions. “The digital format permits coding the work itself so that you can decide to distribute it for free or for remuneration. This gives liberty to the creators.”
While the copyright implications are complicated, it’s also interesting that France is providing more freedom to music consumers than the United States. Sure, the French aren't too keen on people buying Nazi paraphernalia, even if it means blowing up Yahoo! But it’s a little ironic that the land of freedom fries might be behind the curve when it comes to copyright freedom.