Apple Faces Lawsuit Over DRM

Apple has faced a fair amount of scrutiny in recent weeks concerning the Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology tied to its online music store, iTunes. It now appears that the company is in for a legal battle over its DRM practices as well. It hasn't been a good week for Apple. First, the company has been all over the news as part of an ongoing investigation concerning the handling of options owned by the company's executives, not the least of which includes Steve Jobs. Now it looks as though the black cloud of shady DRM practices is looming directly over Apple's head, with no sign of leaving anytime soon. A suggested that it would simpler for music enthusiasts to "just buy a CD and rip it" rather than deal with the stringent hassles that come packaged with any music encoded with DRM. Gates also referred to the practice as "broken" in its current state. I can't say I'm inclined to disagree, and it looks like Apple could have a long road of legal hassles ahead by limiting what customers are able to do with products for which they have bought and paid in a legal fashion. Add to Del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit | Furl Joe is a staff writer for latest ebusiness news