Mon Dieu! French Lawmakers Consider Collective P2P Licensing

P2P may causing headaches in major label offices now, but the pain n may have just begun. In France"…an amendment supporting free P2P-based downloads has now passed the lower house of parliament…approval would open the door for a legal P2P environment, which would include ISP-based surcharges and subsequent redistributions to content creators. Ironically, the amendment is attached to a larger intellectual property rights bill, which would authorize content holders to embed DRM protections onto CDs and DVDs," reports Digital Music News.

"…opposition is already mounting. Major media companies are likely to assault the initiative relentlessly…Regardless, the initiative has planted the seed, and France would join Canada by permitting P2P downloads for private use if the amendment is passed…".

Perhaps US media companies should consider subscription P2P before it’s forced upon them.