Apple and Sony charged with "deceit" over music

Apple and Sony are to appear in court over claims their respective music download sites have been deceitful and forced consumers to buy products because they are tied together.

French consumer association UFC-Que Choisir has launched legal action over the two companies' proprietary music formats, claiming that the respective DRM used by both Sony and Apple, which means songs bought from their online song shops can't be played on other manufacturers' media players, is limiting consumers' choice.

The consumer group announced it would be taking legal action against the pair after conducting interoperability tests last year between a selection of music download services and digital music players and criticising the lack of interoperable DRM.

"The total absence of interoperability between DRM removes not only the consumer's power to independently choose their purchase and where they buy it from, but also constitutes a significant restraint on the free circulation of creative works," the group said.

Despite railing against Microsoft's similar locked-down stance on interoperability during its compatibility testing and indicating that the company was in its legal sights, UFC-Que Choisir has not filed suit against the Redmond behemoth.

The suit has been filed against Sony France, Sony UK, Apple France and iTunes. Apple's case will be heard in a court of first instance in Paris and Sony's in Nanterre. Both cases are expected to be heard later this year.

Apple declined to comment. Sony did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This isn't the first time the issue of interoperability in music has made its way through the French legal system.

Recently, Virginmega, a subsidiary of Virgin, recently took brought a case against anti-competition case against Apple before the French Competition Council. The case was rejected late last year.