Denmark joins forces with France in battle against Apple DRM

Hamlet may have indicated that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”, and it seems to be an apple. Two of the largest Danish companies – Maersk and TDC – have gone on the record in support of a recent proposition by the French government to open up DRM, allowing legal music downloads to be enjoyed on any portable music player.

The proposed law isn’t Apple-specific, but Steve Jobs and friends are clearly a big target, what with the iPod and the iTunes Music Store – both of which are clearly the largest in what they do. Stevie has found some support in the American government, but the way things are going, the entire European Union might be joining the ranks of France and Denmark in their anti-DRM stand.

Both Maersk and TDC operate online music stores, so they clearly have a vested interest in promoting legal music downloads. It is also in their best interest to cripple Apple’s DRM. The Danish government, however, has not made any official announcements one way or the other.