US Government Supports Apple in French iTunes Tiff

France's lower house of parliament passed a copyright law this week that would require Apple to open its digital rights management (DRM) technology to allow consumers to use songs downloaded from iTunes on any music player, not just on an Apple iPod. To become law, however, the upper house also needs to pass the law.

Apple has likened the law to state-supported piracy and yesterday the US Commerce secretary sided with Apple's position. Sec. Carlos Gutierrez stated support for Apple's defense of its intellectual property and that the French law needed a further look. More... [Dana Baggett]