Braden Cox analyzes France's new iPod law on the blog of the Americans for Competetive Technology. It makes for dreary reading. The assault is not just on Apple, but on all creative industries, and the goal is to mandate "interoperability," as interpreted and administered by the government.

It also appears that the law reflects the open source movement's hostility to DRM, but this part of it is a bit opaque. Stay tuned.

The companies are hoping that the EU authorities will bail them out -- but when one must rely on the EU to be the savior of markets and IP, one is indeed in bad shape.