Antitrust Lawsuit Wants To Force Apple To Add WMA Support To iPods
from the right-diagnosis-wrong-solution dept
We've noted a few times that people have gotten way too trigger-happy about invoking antitrust law any time a company does something they don't like. Antitrust law is supposed to prevent the abuse of actual monopolies like Ma Bell. It's not supposed to be an all-purpose weapon to be used against any company whose market share exceeds 50 percent. A lawsuit filed on New Year's Eve claims that Apple has violated antitrust law by declining to license the WMA DRM format from Microsoft for the iPod. There are several obvious problems with this. In the first place, while Apple has undeniably dominated the market for portable music players, there's no shortage of competition. Big companies like Microsoft, Sony, and Samsung make competing MP3 players. Consumers who don't like the formats supported by the iPod have no shortage of alternatives. Second, it's really not a good idea for the courts to be getting embroiled in technical debates over what formats devices should support. The issues involved are complicated, and the market evolves quickly. By the time the courts get around to making a final decision, the issue is likely to be ancient history. Third, it's hard to fault Apple for failing to support WMA-based DRM when even Microsoft itself broke compatibility with its old DRM scheme when it introduced the Zune. Surely if Microsoft can't be bothered to support its own audio format, it's hard to justify forcing Apple to do so.It's also worth noting that none of this would be an issue if the DMCA didn't give digital rights management technology the force of law. This sort of thing isn't a problem with non-DRMed music formats because there are plenty of tools out there for converting from one music format to another. Without the DMCA, there would be similar tools for converting copy-protected music to the appropriate format. But under the DMCA, such a tool would be an illegal "circumvention device." Repealing the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions is a much better solution because it would give consumers the freedom to play their music on the device of their choice without getting the courts involved in the messy business of deciding which MP3 players have to support which audio codecs.
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Filed Under: anti-circumvention, antitrust, dmca, drm, itunes
Companies: apple, microsoft
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What's fair for Microsoft is now Fair for Apple..
But like was the case with Microsoft, they have used the iPod to to protect their iTunes business, actually breaking attempts by Real Media to give iPod owners a choice.
IPods are nice units but a refuse to be locked into a closed system where I have one model. Pay by song we have two Sansas we love with subscriptions to Rhapsody so I can try and listen to almost anything in a 2 million + dong library for a flat rate.
I always thought iPod users were almost suckers for getting locked into buying DRM music that they can lose have have to buy again etc. Vs just honestly renting 2 million songs.
The Ipod gets better if it can use services like Rhapsody, or iTunes gets better if it can work with other players.
The lawsuit actually unlike some of the anti-microsoft lawsuits would help iPod owners..by giving them choice. It is a good thing unless we want to un ring the bell and stop harassing Microsoft for also being successful. You can't have both.. total freedom for Apple when it dominates and restrictions for Microsoft when it dominates. Which will it be? Free Market or "Fair" market. Choose...
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Re: What's fair for Microsoft is now Fair for Appl
The iPod is definitely dominant in it's niche, but the alternatives are countless - you yourself have two Sansas, and you can go get a no-name 1 gig player at any drug store for like $19. The choices are out there and thriving, but Apple's product has the features and design the the majority of users appear to prefer. As long as you can take your own music and add it in to your iPod, there is no confilct or leverage being applied. If you don't like shopping at the iTunes store you can buy the cd. Forcing Apple to use the WMA structure is like forcing Sony to make the PS3 play HD-DVD as well as Blu-Ray, which is to say, dumb.
p.s. - you may be able to listen to anything in "a 2 million + dong library" , but i bet they all sound about the same :)
that's gotta be the best typo I've seen this week!
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Re: Re: What's fair for Microsoft is now Fair for
Should Microsoft let user to choose vendor for Notepad (do not install into system their own by default), ...Start buton, Explorer, IE, GUI, File System (NTFS), Networking components, .NET ?
Does your Nokia has preinstalled media player, is it a problem, is Nokia dominant in Symbian
market ?
...Or may be it is just because of my choice of the market definition ?
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Re: What's fair for Microsoft is now Fair for Appl
The iPod is definitely dominant in it's niche, but the alternatives are countless - you yourself have two Sansas, and you can go get a no-name 1 gig player at any drug store for like $19. The choices are out there and thriving, but Apple's product has the features and design the the majority of users appear to prefer. As long as you can take your own music and add it in to your iPod, there is no confilct or leverage being applied. If you don't like shopping at the iTunes store you can buy the cd. Forcing Apple to use the WMA structure is like forcing Sony to make the PS3 play HD-DVD as well as Blu-Ray, which is to say, dumb.
p.s. - you may be able to listen to anything in "a 2 million + dong library" , but i bet they all sound about the same :)
that's gotta be the best typo I've seen this week!
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Re: Re: What's fair for Microsoft is now Fair for
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Re: What's fair for Microsoft is now Fair for Appl
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Re: What's fair for Microsoft is now Fair for Appl
Real doesn't have any better of a system down than Apple. You want to argue against this Tech Dirt article because you dislike the way apple handles DRM. Real is exactly the same in a different colored package; in the end it's still DRM. Instead of being closed minded, why not try DRM-free music like eMusic? $0.33 a song that you actually own 100%. There's several others and I'm sure with a good five minutes of quality time spent with father Google, you could find many more.
For that matter, if you're going to support a format addition don't support a horrible one that no one uses or likes like WMA. Try something a little better like OGG vorbis. It's open source and has really good quality.
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My Muvo by Creative Labs...
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Re: My Muvo by Creative Labs...
I have 80 gigs and it didn't cost me 23 times 40, 920 bucks...
who do you think bought an overpriced mp3 player? Hmm... Whoda thunk?
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oh hell no...
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Re: oh hell no...
I spent days comparing the different codecs out there in a professional audio studio environment... (MP3, WMA, AAC, Ogg) And guess what... WMA actually sounded better than the other codecs I tried. It removed less of the original music than even AAC and Ogg, keeping more of the original material than the others. MP3, was, of course, by far the worst, and admitedly AAC and Ogg weren't far behind WMA at equal bitrates, but to say that WMA is a bad codec is just ignorance.
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Re: oh hell no...
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Case has Merit!
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Dong Library
What's a "dong library"?
I own an Ipod. Not one of the tunes on it is protected by a DRM scheme of any kind. Instead, all of my "chunes" are in a little-known format that goes by the moniker "MP3." Perhaps you have heard of it? In fact, all of the devices I own, including ones I DON'T own, support this rare, never-mentioned-before format...
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Ridiculous
Seriously if people want to use these codecs get another player. I have a Iriver E10 and it is excellent. And if they don't want to swap because they can't use their itunes music on other players or something maybe they should have got the music from a place without DRM.
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Apple has gotten a lot of people to purchase a lot of songs on itunes that can be used on no other player and they do refuse to let anyone else license their codec to be played (even the non DRM'd songs). So now that someone has purchased a couple hundred dollars in song you can only buy an ipod to listen to the music away from your computer. But your all right. That's not being locked into something is it?
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Re:
If you follow the previously used analogies of a car and engine: Its like a Camaro owner buying a new engine then deciding they don't like the car anymore and getting pissed that their LS1 chevy engine doen't work in their Honda or what ever.
It seems to me that most ipod owners upgrade to a better ipod because they like ipod, or the status of having an ipod, and don't even think about other brands.
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Re: Re:
Oh wait... it doesn't.
And what you said about the song... might as well start setting up a RAID1 as well. If it dies, it all dies.
I'm confused about your analogy. It counters your first paragraph.
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Re: Re: Re:
PS: Ipods play anything drm or not, if you have a clue you can show all files on your ipod and transfer off to any other device, if your clue allows you can also copy directly from one ipod to another.
Obviously a lot of folks who's clue do not extend that far.
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It not supporting OGG has bothered me but its not a huge issue.
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Let Apple feel Microsoft's Pain
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Re: Let Apple feel Microsoft's Pain
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Give Me A Break Already
Apple has been bashing Microsoft for a long time as the underdog but now they are a leader in an area and as a leader, you are going to have to start making concessions for anti-trust.
No, they are not, because none these anti-trust claims against Apple have the slightest bit of merit. Apple did not force anything on anyone. Period. If you and the other posters in here are incapable of understanding the difference between Microsoft's illegal monopoly and Apple's market success, you simply do not know what you are talking about. It's really that simple.
Apple survived and thrived. Unlike the fully documented monopolistic practices and abuse of consumers and partners Microsoft has engaged in for decades, Apple has competed solely on merit and is wildly successful. Now we are supposed to care about the legions of whiny droids whose doom and gloom forecasts have not come to pass?
Get over yourselves. The only concessions Apple will have to make is to accept that a fair majority of the so called tech journalists have irrational biases against Apple and have been doing everything in their power to present every little snag as the latest death knell for Apple, it's stock and it's products. The same clowns who predicted complete and utter failure for the iPhone will run themselves ragged pretending this idiotic lawsuit is in anyway valid.
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Re: Give Me A Break Already
Neither did MS. There are alternatives to every product MS bundles with Windows. Usually there are better alternatives, sometimes there is not.
I'm not saying they are not a monopoly or even monopolistic. Just pointing out your incorrect statement... one I see a lot of people use as the entire and only foundation for their Anti-MS Fanboyism.
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MP3 is just allright with me
Everything on my iPod is an MP3. Is not the purpose of all DRM to help strip any remaining heart and soul out of any music artists? (imagine my surprise that artists would be vulnerable to greed & paranoia in lieu of alcohol, drugs, narcissism, and the many other temptations of performing and or stardom)
MP3 is a gift from the Gods, despite what Thomson Consumer Electronics and the Fraunhofer Institute may say. All MP3 patents expire by 2017, from what I understand, but that's a long time for progress to wait.
I imagine I'm not the only technophile or audiophile that feels some frustration with all the codecs motivated for competitive advantage, or to overcome proprietary and legal restrictions, rather than for technical improvement. How many different codecs for music do we really need?
What's worse? If I try to send an MP3 file to my Blackberry (on Verizon's network) the carrier intercepts it, and it never arrives. Now I find that highly angering, much more offensive than Apple not supporting WMA, or maybe even DCMA; but the carrier is out to maximize profits, not make friends, and they figure maybe they can sell me that music (Answer for me: Nope. I just don't listen to music on the "defective" phone - err Verizon network.)
So all kinds of levels of bad behavior, but the folks that make technology and implement it won't do so without sufficient economic motivation.
Just give me MP3s, an MP3 that player that goes to 11.
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Re: MP3 is just allright with me
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you don't know squat about antitrust law
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Re: you don't know squat about antitrust law
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I'm really perplexed by this.
2. I have had several MP3 players that don't play WMA, protected or not, so why attack the iPod because it doesn't... because its the most popular? Consumers made it the most popular, if you want something that plays WMA, don't buy a &#@!ing iPod. If I bought an iPod (never owned one) and HOPED it would play my WMAs then found out it didnt i would think "oh well that was silly of me". The end.
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You are blantantly trying to manipulate interpretation of the law into reflecting your personal political and social utopia.
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Deciding not to support a random codec
The judge is going to toss this out without needing to hear motions, I think.
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Creative Zen supports WMA, better than iPod
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cable
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cable
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