Amended French DRM law passes

The French senate has passed an amended version of its much discussed DRM law. In its original form, the law sought to create interoperable systems and to open up DRM schemes. The amended law provides a loophole where companies can bypass DRM interoperability requirements. Essentially, if an artist or copyright holder makes it part of the contract that their work be protected by DRM, the distributor (like the Apple iTunes Music Store) would then be exempt from this requirement.

A regulatory authority will be responsible for managing requests made to reveal DRM scheme details made by companies seeking to develop software capable of interoperability. It will also be possible to block publication of DRM details if it can be demonstrated that doing so would compromise the effectiveness of the DRM scheme.

Note: The ‘More information’ link will take you to a French article. A similar item in english can be found here.

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