iTunes Breaking News

A new report from TechNews World provides an overview of the new European iTunes Music Store that launched this week in Britain, Germany and France.  The article echoes some of the issues outlined in the Berkman Center's iTunes Case Study: that the harmonization of international law has allowed iTunes to preserve the same business model used in the U.S.  However, not all of the wrinkles of internationalization have been resolved.  As Urs Gasser, a Berkman Fellow and the lead researcher on the Case Study, explains in the article, "The key question then is whether [the iTunes Music Store] will manage, across Europe, to level the variety of expectations and practices" regarding consumer expectations, fair-use traditions, and other legal hurdles.