Mr. Bjoern Erik Thon, Norway’s top consumer advocate, announced his intentions to take Apple Inc. to the government’s Market Council, in an effort to get the company to allow other digital players, other than the iPod, to use the iTunes music store.

"Consumers themselves should be able to choose what music device they would like to use to listen to music bought from the iTunes Store," said Mr. Thon. His battle with Apple started back in 2006 when he stated that dictating the technology that customers must use is wrong and filed an official complaint.

It is a well known fact that once a song is purchased and downloaded using iTunes, it can be listened to using an iPod but it cannot be transferred to other player models, such as Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Media system. Some say that this measure is evened out by the impossibility of playing on iPods copy-protected tunes sold through non-Apple stores.

So far Apple did not address the issue and has just over a month, until November 03, to make a decision before Thon proceeds with his plans. The matter that he is trying to bring light on refers to the fact that people, at least Norwegians, should have the freedom to choose whatever player they see fit for their music and should not stick with iTunes just because Apple wants that. The company uses its digital rights management (DRM) policy to explain its move, as the DRM is used to prevent illegal copying and distribution of files.

The announcement was received with enthusiasm by many, and several countries, including Finland, Denmark, France, Germany and the Netherlands completely back Norway’s request.

Mr. Thon admitted that over the past two years a certain progress was indeed recorded, as Apple agreed to several adjustments in its contracts on how to convert music, but it is still extremely far from what should be going on. He explained that Apple’s efforts are less than acceptable and the November 03 deadline should not be taken lightly.

"It's a consumer's right to transfer and play digital content bought and downloaded from the Internet to the music device he himself chooses to use," said Thon. "iTunes makes this impossible or at least difficult, and hence, they act in breach of Norwegian law."

Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO and co-founder, released a letter last year on the company’s official Web site, to address the highly debated issue. He said that these problems were mainly reported in European countries and instead of complaining about it, people should focus on persuading the music companies such as Universal, EMI, Sony BMG or Vivendi to make their music available DRM-free. "Convincing them to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace," said Jobs. "Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly."

It’s hard to believe that there has been any significant change in Steve Jobs’ opinion on the matter over the past year and for Apple, being taken to court and turning this matter on all sides for the next few years will probably be considered acceptable.