Music Label Has To Replace "Defective" Copy Protected CD

from the a-step-in-the-right-direction dept

There have been a few attempts in the US to have copy protected CD declared "defective" or simply "not CDs". None of these have gone very far, but that might have something to do with the fact that the recording industry (so far) has avoided putting out too many copy protected CDs in the US. That's not the case in Europe, where they've been gleefully selling copy protected music for a while now. However, in France, one woman complained that the CD she legally bought can't be used in her car CD player. A French court has declared the CD defective and says that EMI needs to replace it. As the article points out, though, they don't say that copy protected CDs are universally defective - just ones that can be shown not to play in CD players. The French court also chose not to punish the retailer who sold the CD for not labeling it to tell the buyer about the copy protection. Meanwhile, the article also links to a similar Australian case where an opposite ruling was reached and consumers were told it was their problem if the CD they bought didn't work in their chosen CD players.
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