The International Herald Tribune is reporting that French lawmakers approved copyright legislation requiring online music vendors to make songs available for use on any digital player.
The act will most likely become law as it moves into the French Senate for a vote.
Representatives in France of Apple Computer, which sells the iPod digital music player and operates the iTunes Music Store, declined to comment on the bill. Some analysts report that the company, might bolt from the French online music market rather than share their proprietary technology tha is the staple of their business model.
Other digital music players, like Sony’s Walkman, operate on a similar principle.
French courts, considered by many to be lienient on software and music pirating, is also easing the penalties for anyone that might get caught, with newly proposed fines of $46 to $181 USD.