If the blockbuster action movie actor does go ahead with the case, he could change the way people around the world distribute digital music.
The Sixth Sense, Die Hard and Pulp Fiction star has recently discovered that, like anyone else who downloads music, he does not own the tracks but is borrowing them, similar to how he would borrow a library book.
The iTunes terms and conditions of its downloading contract clearly state that music bought through the site cannot be passed onto anyone else, no matter if they are a relation or not.
Willis himself, fancies himself as a musician and often sings blues with a band. He’s also done a cameo in a Gorillaz video. He’s certainly a music fan and has downloaded hundreds of thousands of tracks onto numerous iPods.
The star is upset at learning he couldn’t pass his MP3s onto his daughters Rumer, Scout and Tallaluh like he could a record or CD.
One potential way for Willis to get around the law is to ask his lawyers to name his family members as ‘holders’ of his downloaded music, in family trusts.
Another is to relax the stringent laws regarding downloading and give people more freedom to distribute music.
iTunes currently has the power to freeze people’s iTunes accounts that it believes are owned by users deliberately sharing music illegally. Apple also does not allow downloaders to move tracks on to MP3 players that are not iPods. Similar laws apply with Amazon’s Kindle.
Solicitor Chris Walton said to the Daily Mail: “Lots of people will be surprised on learning all those tracks and books they have bought over the years don’t actually belong to them. It’s only natural you would want to pass them on to a loved one.”
