Constitutional Court Decision on Internet Copyright

Since the Journal officiel website isn’t the easiest to navigate, here is a link to the text of the Constitutional Court’s Décision n° 2006-540 DC du 27 juillet 2006 (Loi relative au droit d’auteur et aux droits voisins dans la société de l’information).

The court upheld new laws on Internet copyright, despite criticising parts of the legislation relating to online music stores. The law was originally aimed at forcing online stores such as Apple’s iTunes to allow songs bought from its store to be played on devices that work with other music stores. The blogosphere has been in full spate, commenting upon the decision, and talking about where policymakers will go from here.

The law that was passed in June was a watered down version of an earlier bill that would have set much tougher requirements on Apple and other big companies involved with online music stores. The Socialist Party remains opposed.