The Consumer Council of Norway is on track to win case against iTunes

The Consumer Council of Norway won support for almost all its complaints regarding iTunes Music Store. This is a great victory for the digital rights of Norwegian consumers.

Jo Singstad Kommunikasjonsrådgiver/pressekontakt, 06.06.2006 20:55

On 25th January, the Consumer Council lodged a complaint with the Consumer Ombudsman against iTunes Music Store Norge for breach of fundamental consumer rights.

Important victory

The decision is in accordance with what the Consumer Council alleged in its complaint.

”We are very satisfied with the decision. There is a general tendency for consumers to meet grossly unreasonable agreements when they download files with cultural content. It is therefore positive that the Ombudsman gets a grip on this so that consumer interests are also protected when such material is downloaded,” senior advisor Torgeir Waterhouse says.

Among other things, the decision clearly states that the terms of agreement demanded by iTunes are unreasonable with respect to Section 9a of the Norwegian Marketing Control Act. Moreover, it is unreasonable that the agreement the consumer must give consent to is regulated by English law. That iTunes disclaims all liability for possible damage the software may cause and that it may alter the rights to the music, are also considered unreasonable. iTunes must now alter their terms and conditions to comply with Norwegian law by the 21.of June.

”A trade agreement with a consumer must be balanced, also in the digital sphere. The Consumer Council has seen a trend where terms of agreement, technical blocks and their legal protection have led to a reduction in the rights of consumers and their opportunities to use cultural material,” Waterhouse says.

“The digital rights of consumers have been dictated by the industry for a long time. This decision marks the start of a struggle to recover them,” Waterhouse continues.

Must be followed up

The Consumer Council now wants attention focused on other downloading services operating in Norway.

”The terms, both technical and written ones, are not unique to iTunes. Many other companies employ similar ones. We anticipate that the Ombudsman will also pursue these, initially the music shops mentioned in our complaint.

”Several Norwegian record shops have said they will start downloading services this year. This case puts severe constraints on the formulation of their terms and on their service to customers,” Torgeir Waterhouse says.

The Consumer Council will be watching the trend carefully in the time ahead.

Awaiting a response

A reply from iTunes is being awaited before a final conclusion can be reached on certain points, including:

• The cooling-off period when purchasing from iTunes
• Whether the technical blocks (DRM) are unreasonable
• Whether the geographical limitations are unreasonable

”We want the Ombudsman to take an offensive and a consumer-friendly attitude to the points on which a conclusion has so far not been reached. This particularly concerns the technical conditions (DRM) in the agreement. The widespread use of DRM and its legal protection have upset the normal, balanced regulation of copyright. It is important that such technical blocks do not create unbalanced terms of agreement between the consumer and the industry,” Torgeir Waterhouse concludes.

Contact:

Torgeir Waterhouse

+47 41612096

torgeir.waterhouse@forbrukerradet.no