Media companies will not be forced to sell rights to their products in a single, pan-European block

Media companies have nothing to fear from the European Commission’s plan to make digital entertainment more freely accessible across the continent. That was the line Monday from Ed Vaizey, the minister responsible for the U.K. government’s policy on the digital economy. Vaizey told POLITICO the British government has listened to the media and entertainment companies’ concerns about the digital single market strategy and will resist any reforms that would threaten their businesses. The culture minister said European officials do not intend to force the media groups to sell rights to their products in a single, pan-European block, rather than territory-by-territory, as they typically do now. Companies have argued a solo approach would have a catastrophic impact on Europe’s €509 billion copyright-related industries. http://www.politico.eu/article/uk-minister-digital-single-market-entertainment-industry/