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Apple 'Not Liable' In Class Action Suit Over Anticompetitive iTunes' DRM

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Apple has been found 'not liable' of breaking anti-trust regulations with the DRM systems used by iTunes. The class-action suit unsuccessfully argued that Apple's use of DRM and security features in the iPod and iTunes ecosystem was uncompetitive.

The case was originally filed in 2005 when Apple's iTunes Music Store was supplying DRM-locked music. The contracts with the music publishers gave Apple a short window to close any security issues that allowed the encrypted music files to be used outside of the iTunes ecosystem - and similar deals were in place with other stores such as Microsoft's PlaysForSure, and Microsoft's Zune Store. These contracts were so tight in scope that Microsoft could not offer transportability between its two stores. It would have been a breach of contract if Apple's iTunes Music could have been transferred to a media player that was not an iPod.

The eight person jury returned a unanimous decision that Apple's updates to the ecosystem consisted of "genuine product improvements" and Apple's statement after the verdict reiterates this view. "We thank the jury for their service and we applaud their verdict. We created iPod and iTunes to give our customers the world’s best way to listen to music. Every time we've updated those products - and every Apple product over the years - we’ve done it to make the user experience even better."

(Read more on Apple’s recent changes to iTunes and the removal of ‘free’ apps).

Digital music has moved on since 2005. DRM is far less prevalent, and the vast majority of stores selling music will do so in in a DRM-free format (subscription services still use DRM to 'time out' the music each month if required).

This case looked back at a time when the landscape for music and digital content on the internet was far more silted and less homogenized than today. That has been recognised by the jury, and of course consumers can move their purchased music between different stores and devices.

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