The Apple iTunes DRM case proceeds apace. After finding a replacement plaintiff to supplant those who were found not to have bought iPods during the required time period, the case moved forward, hearing reluctant testimony from a former iTunes engineer who worked on blocking the interoperability of competitors’ music DRM with iPods. (The engineer basically rehashed the same arguments Apple’s made all along: Apple had to lock out competitors because the music labels demanded it.) This was the case’s last witness; it will go to jury deliberations next week.
As I’ve said before, this case could potentially have profound implications for e-books. E-readers are basically the only iPod DRM equivalent left on the market—single-use devices locked down by their vendor’s DRM. If the court rules that it’s legal for companies to work out ways to defeat competitors’ DRM so they can interoperate, does that mean we could see e-book stores like Amazon and Barnes & Noble set up DRM-cracking systems to “interoperate” competitors’ e-books onto their own devices?
Might it even mean the end to Apple’s app store exclusivity, in which they are able to prevent people from side-loading external software unless they jailbreak?
Probably not. But it will at least be a blow to the idea that companies can keep competitors out of their walled gardens with impunity.
Of course, a loss for Apple is by no means assured. Unlike the e-book trial, this one will be decided by a jury. The way they look at it could be anybody’s guess.
Yes, wouldn’t it be interesting if one could purchase a FairPlay encumbered ePub eBook from Apple’s iBookstore and read it on a Kindle device or in one of the Kindle apps on various other hardware platforms. Of course, Amazon has a double line of defense. First, there’s the DRM and, following that, there’s the ever so slight but critical differences between the ePub standard and the format Kindle uses (KF8, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_formats).
Apple’s appeal in the eBook case began today.
I have considerable doubts about whether there would be any immediate change in the way e-books are sold. B&N could have sold DRMed e-books for almost any reader except Kindle. They haven’t… except for the Fictionwise/eBookwise/eReader.com sites that B&N bought and eventually shut down.
The big vendors all seem determined to have their own walled gardens.