In a scathing attack on both Big Media copyright holders, and European law-makers, Ericsson's Director of Government and Industry Relations Rene Summer has called for new thinking in the way we consume digital media according to thinq_

Writing in the latest issue of Ericsson Business Review Summer says, "Through a series of legislative Checkpoint Charlies‚ of which copyright abuse is the most prominent example, these economic-rights holders determine how, when, where and by whom legal digital content can be accessed in Europe."

Despite numerous calls from a wide range of consumer organisations, Summer continues, "The gatekeepers refuse to relinquish their posts or look beyond their immediate self-interests. By clinging to outdated business methods such as windowing and territoriality, economic-rights holders are in fact creating the consumer behaviour against which they so violently protest.

"Current restrictions have forced European consumers into a digital exile. Seeking an appropriate way to access legal digital content, and unable to satisfy this legitimate desire through a legitimate digital alternative, many resort to illegal file-sharing."

Summer says that Ericsson is calling for "full consumer access to legal, timely, competitively priced and wide-ranging compelling content offerings, and a free choice of when, where and how this legal digital content can be consumed," as well as an "end to regulatory barriers and deliberate non-availability through windowing and territoriality."