is the iTunes Store protocal open source?

<thinking out-loud>

are the server protocals that iTMS uses open source? I'm not a developer, so I don't really know much about the client-server relationship between iTunes and phobos.apple.com. But are the tools used to make iTMS so slick free to all, or proprietary unto Apple?

On a related note, do you think a site like Amazon.com or Ebay would ever look into improving their end-user experience by making an iTMS-like GUI? It's cross platform, more secure, and not dependant on brower versions, and there are tons of other advantages.

Any thoughts?