Accommodating the needs of iConsumers: making sure they get their money’s worth of digital entertainment

The current methods of distributing music and film on the mass-market, either
off-line or on-line, raise two types of consumer protection issues. First, consumers are not
always in a position to know what they can and cannot do with their digital hardware and
content. A lack of proper information and the ensuing failure of the products to meet the
consumer’s expectations inevitably leads to discontent. In addition, as weaker party in the
transaction, consumers have often no other choice but to accept or refuse the restrictive
terms of use, even if these could be regarded as unfair. This paper examines whether
European law is amenable to accommodate the iConsumer’s needs, and if so, in what form.