French Copyright Law Approved

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

04 July 2006

French legislators on Friday approved amendments to the country's copyright law which are likely to force Apple Computer to provide its music download rivals with interoperability information.

The approval of the amended law by both the Senate and the National Assembly (earlier this year) brings to an end six months of often bitter negotiations on the subject. However, it remains to be signed into law by the President, and according to reports, the Socialist Party is considering referring the matter to the Constitutional Council.

The new law, in addition to requiring companies to provide information about their music download services and devices to their rivals, provides for the creation of a new regulatory authority to ensure that such an information exchange takes place.

Commenting on the new legislation last week, US technology industry group Americans for Technology Leadership, argued that:

"The final vote today by French lawmakers on legislation that would force Apple to open its iTunes product to competitors’ devices is an attack on intellectual property rights not just of Apple but all companies"

“While the final version is slightly less severe than the earlier draft, it still illustrates France’s complete disregard for intellectual property,” stated Jim Prendergast, Executive Director of Americans for Technology Leadership.

He continued:

“Government-led theft of intellectual property is wrong, whether we’re talking about iTunes or Champagne. Already we have seen other European countries attempt to regulate Apple in the same way the French lawmakers originally proposed."

“Once government regulators take away a company’s intellectual property rights and dictate that they must allow competitors to benefit from their creations, they break the cycle of innovation that benefits consumers by destroying the incentive companies have to create new and better products.”

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