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The law will force Apple to loosen the restrictions on music bought through iTunes so that it is no longer restricted to the iPod. Moreover it will be perfectly legal to download a track from Apple's iTunes Music Store, for example, and then strip out the DRM - provided you have the necessary software - so that the track can be played on any portable device.

'It will force some proprietary systems to be opened up,' French MP Christian Vanneste told Reuters. 'You have to be able to download content

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and play it on any device.'

Reuters goes on to quote 'industry insiders' who believe that the law, if enacted, could force Apple to close its French downloads store.

The record industry is certain to take a dim view of proceedings, since it relies on DRM to control the availability - and some would say the price - of digital music. Certainly it will not be happy if French iTunes downloads end up on p2p networks, as would certainly happen if DRM cracking was legitimised.

'The person who will have converted iTunes songs will be able to make it available elsewhere,' said Marc Guez, head of the French Collecting Society for Music Producers rights (SCPP).

Apple's virtual monopoly of the digital music market is exacerbated in France where none of its main rivals in the rest of the world yet have a presence. In the UK for instance there are many more providers supporting a wider variety of devices.

Late last year French parliamentarians incurred the wrath of the major record companies when they proposed a scheme to legalise file sharing. They do seem set however to introduce tougher penalties for blatant instances of copyright violation.