A group of US and Norwegian programmers have joined
forces to crack Apple's digital rights management software when
downloading iTunes.
They have developed a program called PyMusique, which allows
users to legitimately enter the Apple site and buy iTunes, but then
strip out the blocks that restrict the use of those tunes.
Their move may arouse the wrath of the music moguls as well as
Apple, which so far hasn't said anything about its copyright system
being breached.
PyMusique was initially written for Linux users but has now been
developed for Windows users too, presenting an even bigger
challenge to the music industry.
The programmers behind PyMusique are Travis Watkins, Cody
Brocious and Jon Lech Johansen.
Norwegian Johansen was responsible with others for bringing out
software six years ago that allowed users to copy film DVDs. He
successfully contested legal action brought against him in Norway
for that software, which still circulates on the internet.
All three programmers deny that PyMusique breaks any copyright
law or Apple's user contract rules.