Tag: virgin

The French Competition Council has dismissed the case brought by Virgin Mega’s French arm against Apple for alleged abuse of market dominance. In June, Virgin filed a complaint against Apple alleging that the company has wrongfully refused to its license FairPlay DRM (digital rights management) technology to competitors.

Virgin Digital, the online arm of the Virgin Group, is the latest company to launch an online music service. “The company is jumping into the market with a full-featured music jukebox written from scratch, in which it is offering a music download store and music subscription service powered by wholesaler MusicNet,” reports CNET News.com. “With an entry 18 months after Apple first launched its iTunes song store, Virgin is starting well behind its biggest rivals.

In Apple’s quarterly report filed today, the company reveals that Virgin Mega filed a complaint on June 28 against Apple France with the French Competition Council alleging that the company has wrongfully refused to license Fairplay DRM (digital rights management) technology to competitors. Virgin is seeking “Interim Measures,” pending the determination of the merits of the case. A hearing on Virgin’s request for such measures will likely take place in October or November 2004. Stay tuned for highlights from Apple’s quarterly report (SEC form 10-Q).

The iPod is a big hit in the Virgin Atlantic Airways lounge at London’s Heathrow Airport, according to CNET News.com. “We already have iPods in the Heathrow Clubhouse, and as they’ve been so popular, we will soon be adding them to our new Clubhouse at JFK (in New York),” Virgin said. Passengers can borrow an iPod to listen to music (courtesy of the Virgin Megastores) before boarding their flights.

A Virgin Entertainment executive has said that the company plans to roll out its own online music service in early 2004, reports Reuters. Details on the service are sketchy at best, but the company says it will compete with the popular 99 cents per song format, currently used by Apple’s iTunes Music Store and others.

Apple said Wednesday that the iPod is now available to order through all 165 Virgin Megastore and Virgin Xpress retail locations in the UK. “We’re thrilled to be working with Virgin Retail to bring the iPod to even more customers,” said Mark Rogers, Apple’s sales director and general manager for the UK and Ireland.