UK govt takes iTunes gripe to Europe
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Union trade regulators asked to probe 'one country, single store' policy
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The effort to crack down on illegal music downloads moves across the pond.
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Heads off EC investigation The European Commission has ended its antitrust investigation into Apple after the computing giant agreed to cut the price UK consumers pay to download music for their iPods.â¦
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(InfoWorld) - Apple and four of the biggest record companies have until Wednesday to submit their written response toÂ antitrust charges that they restricted online sales of musicÂ in Europe. The deadline originally expired at the beginning of June, but was extended by two weeks at the request of Apple and three of the record companies, European Commission competition spokesman Jonathan Todd said Monday. The Commission is still waiting for replies from these four companies. The one record company that didn't request an extension has already submitted its written response, Todd said. The Commission has declined to name the record companies involved but they are assumed to be the four majors: Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music, and EMI Group. "We have every reason to believe that the remaining companies will reply by the new deadline," Todd said. Downloads from Apple's iTunes Web site are priced differently in different countries in the Union but consumers are prevented from shopping around and have to make their purchases of music from the iTunes site in the country they are based. The Commission said that in the single European market the distribution agreements between the record companies and Apple could amount to restrictive practices. Apple claims it has always tried to operate a single pan-European iTunes store accessible by anyone from any member state but has been prevented from doing so by the record labels and publishers.ADVERTISEMENTIBM Information On Demand 2006Industrial Industry Leaders, please join us at IBM's premier information management global event, IBM Information On Demand 2006, October 15-20, Anaheim, CA. More IBM business and technical solutions content in one place than ever before! Select from  over 800 sessions. Register today!
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MacCentral - Shortly before Apple's special music event on Tuesday featuring Bono and The Edge from U2, the iTunes Music Store was updated with links to allow residents of nine new European countries to buy music online. In addition to the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, iTunes now supports Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. At long last, Apple also announced plans to bring the iTunes Music Store to Canada in November.
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Settling an antitrust case brought by European regulators, Apple agreed to align the prices on its iTunes digital music store in Britain with those in Continental Europe.
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LONDON A British consumers&#39; lobbying group has complained to the Office of Fair Trading about prices on Apple&#39;s iTunes online music download service.
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The U.K. is looking to change copyright laws that make it illegal to copy music for personal use and for libraries to archive material under copyright.
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Apple is to cut the price it charges in the UK for music downloads from iTunes within six months.
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The world&#39;s first legitimate music download service, Apple iTunes, is to be investigated by a government watchdog for overcharging its British customers by up to 20 per cent.
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The Consumer Association has today complained to the UKâs Office of Fair Trading that downloading tracks from Appleâs iTunes costs UK consumers more than their counterparts in France and Germany.
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(InfoWorld) - A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) official has joined the debate surrounding Apple Computer's proprietary digital music technology by criticizing European antitrust activities, butÂ groups attacking AppleÂ are defending their actions. Speaking in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general at the DOJ's antitrust division, warned that forcing companies to reveal their intellectual property stifles innovation. He used Apple as an example, in a nod toÂ growing discontent in EuropeÂ regarding the way that music purchased from iTunes is tied to the iPod. Architects of complaints against Apple in Europe say he's got it wrong. "We're not attacking intellectual property rights but saying they should be implemented in a way which doesn't dictate which player you use," said Torgeir Waterhouse, a senior advisor with the Norwegian Consumer Council. His organization filed a complaint to Norway's consumer representative, or ombudsman, arguing that it's illegal for Apple to limit iTunes customers to playing music from the store exclusively on iPods. Along with similar representatives in Denmark and Sweden, the Norwegian ombudsman asked Apple toÂ defend its policy. In a written reply, Apple said it won't budge on the issue but the company plans to meet representatives from the countries later this month to further discuss the issue. If Apple won't open up, the ombudsman will take the company to court. Waterhouse suggests that Apple could solve the problem by licensing its digital rights management technology to other device makers so that iTunes customers could choose among devices or opt for an open standard that would be compatible with more devices. Barnett's criticisms of European antitrust policy, including comments that the policy is aimed at helping competitors instead of consumers, are generally in line with comments from U.S. officials since the Bush administration came to power, said Scott Megregian, a partner and head of the European competition group in the law firm McDermott Will & Emery UK. He disagrees with the argument that requiring companies to open up some of their technology stifles innovation. "That's an argument without support," he said. "Microsoft hasn't stopped innovating that I can tell despite regulations and attack by the E.U." So far, the European Commission has likely communicated with the countries that are pursuing Apple and has probably expressed an opinion on the matter, he said. While no official complaints have been filed with the Commission, if one is, the result will have the makings of a historical battle. "This has the potential to be the next big high-profile dispute," Megregian said.
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Apple has responded to a midnight Wednesday deadline in relation to antitrust concerns over the pricing of songs on its iTunes online music store across different European countries. The European Commission has expressed concerns about Apple setting unfair iTunes pricing prohibiting users in one country from downloading music from a website intended to serve another. A European commission spokesperson said: &quot;They answered yesterday and we are studying [the response] carefully at this point.&quot;
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Apple has responded to a midnight Wednesday deadline in relation to antitrust concerns over the pricing of songs on its iTunes online music store across different European countries. The European Commission has expressed concerns about Apple setting unfair iTunes pricing prohibiting users in one country from downloading music from a website intended to serve another. A European commission spokesperson said: "They answered yesterday and we are studying [the response] carefully at this point."
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TechWeb - Apple responds to a European Union pricing investigation but wants U.K. labels to cut distribution costs as well.
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A consumer&#39;s group said Wednesday it has complained to government regulators about the cost of downloading music from Apple&#39;s iTunes system.
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Apple's iTunes music download service is accused by the Consumers' Association of overcharging UK users.