It appears that the French government is in the process of “forcing” technology companies such as Apple to share with its competitors the technology to enable playing iTunes downloaded songs in other MP3 players. Apple’s potential response, according to the BBC, is to pull out of the French market. Although the bill hasn’t been passed into law, the repercussions of this possible regulation is huge for companies who serve the music download industry. As I am not aware how much the French music download market is worth to Apple, there is no way I can predict whether or not Apple would actually make good on their threat. But imagine for the French music lover, the impact of not being able to download music from iTunes.
On the other hand, I also do understand the concerns Apple and similar firms have in sharing their technology with competitors. Intellectual property is probably one of the most important driving forces for any technology company. The seemingly limitless capabilities of our mobile phones, computer, and cameras are a product of millions of dollars and many years of research, and sharing that knowledge definitely comes at a price.
If France is able to pass this into a law, what other countries will follow suit? And should other countries follow France’s footsteps, what will these firms end up doing? Will they keep pulling away from every country who threatens to force them to share proprietary technologies with competition?
What would be ideal for music consumers is to find a way for companies to collaborate and agree on one platform. But then again, even if there was, would the companies be willing? For emerging technologies, fighting platform dominance is a necessary evolution; consider Beta vs. VHS in the eighties. Sony’s Betamax technology, although viewed by some as the more superior format died in the heels of its later rival, the VHS due to what I think was mostly an IP issue. In the end, VHS hung on to the market, mostly thanks to slick marketing on the part of VHS manufacturers, until the laser disc, and eventually DVD player, came about, while the Beta circa 1987 was probably only present in two out of 10 homes in Southeast Asia or somewhere thereabouts (statistic not scientific).
In cases like these, who decides the winner? Is it truly the consumer or other firms who are savvy enough to capitalize on the market even with what might be perceived as lesser quality technology? By no means am I underestimating the power of Apple, though. I’m sure they have something cooking up their sleeves. Any predictions?
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