There are many links floating around the blog world regarding a new French Law that would require broad interoperability for digital players. Here is one link which discusses it’s impact a little further.
I personally am impressed by the courage that democratic leaders which are probably under similar financial pressures as our own have decided that the rights of the users, the true citizens of the country, should out way the pressure being applied by the greed from these huge corporations.
Of course it is truly sad that this is coming from another democratic country rather than the United States since we as a people like to hold ourselves up as a bastion of freedom and democracy. This issue (copyright and trademark law with the related pieces like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act) are examples of how the United States elected officials have failed it’s citizenry to instead favor the large corporations.