Europe takes on Apple

The Nordic lobby has been badgering Apple for a while, trying to force them to unlock iTunes Music Store purchases to work on any media player the purchaser might choose. Now, they're being joined by Germany and France:

Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman Bjoern Erik Thon said French consumer lobby UFC-Que Choisir and its German counterpart, Ferbraucherzentralen, joined the effort late last year, and other European countries are considering it. Finland's Kuluttajavirasto consumer group is also part of the effort.

"This is important because Germany and France are European giants," Thon said. "Germany, in particular, is a big market for digital music."

Apple have replied with what might be termed a controlled statement read through a fixed grin:

"Apple is aware of the concerns we've heard from several agencies in Europe and we're looking forward to resolving these issues as quickly as possible," Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said Monday.

"Apple hopes that European governments will encourage a competitive environment that lets innovation thrive, protects intellectual property and allows consumers to decide which products are successful."

After that, Neumayr went off to have his teeth fixed - apparently they'd started to grind somewhat.

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