B ack in June, the French division of Virgin Megais online store filed a complaint against Apple, seeking a court order that would force the iPod maker to license its FairPlay digital rights management technology to others. Today, the Conseil de la Concurrence, the French authority in charge of such matters, rejected Virginis claims, stating that that FairPlay technology was not required to sell music online, Hardmac.com reports.
Had Virginis complaint been accepted, the move would have paved the way for other stores to sell DRM music with iPod compatibility. Details on the decision are slim--Hardmac.com, the English translation of French Mac site MacBidouille offers no further details and searches online come up empty.
Virgin has been attempting to grab market share away from Appleis iPod and iTunes Music Store. Last month, the company unveiled its iPod mini competitor the Player 5GB.