Apple's iTunes faces Norwegian legal challenge

Barely had Apple got over the euphoria of seeing a lawsuit against its iPhone dismissed without trial, than it finds itself facing another legal challenge, this time related to its popular iTunes service which recently trumped Wal-Mart as the biggest music retailer in the world. (See: Judge dismisses iPhone lawsuit without trial)

With its friendly user interface bolstered by the extensive portfolio of songs that Apple holds, the company has seen iTunes emerging as the favoured music retailer in several countries around the world (See: Apple's iTunes surpasses Wal-Mart as biggest US music seller). However, the business model, which has seen iTunes becoming a veritable cash cow for the tech giant, has come under legal scrutiny in Norway.

The latest move by the country's consumer rights watchdog to muzzle iTunes stems from a two-year battle that started way back in 2006. Then, Norway's consumer Ombudsmen sided with critics that claimed the Norwegian version of the iTunes store violated consumers' rights by tying content purchased there to Apple's iPods and iTunes software.

Now, it is bringing a case against Apple to the Norwegian Market Council, hoping it will somehow force the company to open up its digital rights management (DRM) technology and allow devices other than iPods to play music from iTunes.

In a letter to the council, Consumer Ombudsman Bjorn Erik Thon said that he found it "unfair" that most of the music bought on iTunes Store can only be played on Apple's iPod. "The Ombudsman demands that the consumers themselves should be able to choose what music device they would like to use to listen to music bought from the iTunes Store," he said.

"It's a consumer's right to transfer and play digital content bought and downloaded from the internet to the music device he himself chooses to use," said Thon. "iTunes makes this impossible or at least difficult, and hence, they act in breach of Norwegian law."