Quite what data those companies will be sharing we're not sure, but we're pretty sure Apple won't be sharing any data relating to just how its proprietary DRM works so that, you know, someone other than iTunes can sell music in a protected iPod compatible format. And it now looks like the French won't be forcing that kind of data sharing either, as the country's political leaders tamper with that previously reported copyright legislation to make it more tech-firm friendly.
As previously reported, the overhaul of the country's copyright laws got global attention earlier this year when France's National Assembly approved a bill that would force technology firms to share their digital rights technology with competitors - a move that would hit Apple the hardest, because their DRM is a closely guarded secret, locking iPod owners to iTunes, and iTunes users to the iPod.
However before those proposals become law they must go through France's Senate and it looks likely that proactive lobbying from the (nasty? evil? corrupt? morally bankrupt? completely commercially justified?) technology sector will lead to amendments being made so that the new laws will not be as hardline as the National Assembly hoped.
Michel Thiolliere, one of the senators who have been reviewing the legislation ahead of a Senate debate on the issue, has admitted that a number of amendments are being proposed that will protect the interests of the technology firms. He told reporters this week: "We fully support interoperability ... [but] there is no reason why Apple or any other company should be forced to give away their technology to everyone for free."
Key changes likely to be made include a revamp of the committee who will monitor interoperability issues on a day to day basis - making that committee respond more to the concerns of technology companies rather than consumers. Measures that would allow individuals to legally tamper with DRM technology that hindered interoperability are also likely to be abandoned in the new proposals.
Commenting on the changes likely to happen to the copyright bill in the French Senate, Aziz Ridouan of consumer rights group the Association of Audio Surfers told reporters: "We had high hopes for these laws, but the Senate has now divided up control of digital culture between Microsoft, Sony and Apple. Internet users will now be forced to choose purchasing their music from one of these monopoly-holders."