Report shows that 16% of Cypriots admit illegal access to digital content

Cypriots admit to having accessed content illegally, especially to watch sports, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) said in a report on citizens' perception of intellectual property issues. It added that 54% of Cypriot consumers were unsure whether a product was genuine or not, while 17% reported having bought fakes intentionally.

As stated, the aim of 2023 IP Perception survey was to gather insights into European consumers' attitudes towards IP, with total of 25,824 online interviews conducted between 30 January 2023 and 15 February 2023, involving residents of all EU Member States aged 15 years and over.

According to the study published on Monday, a clear majority of Europeans say they have a fairly good or very good understanding of the concept of IP, with 80% of Europeans agreeing that counterfeiting supports criminal organisations and ruins businesses and jobs, while 2 out of 3 also see counterfeiting as a threat to health, safety and the environment.

Regarding piracy, 82% of Europeans agree obtaining digital content through illegal sources entails a risk of harmful practices (scams or inappropriate content for minors), however, despite these positive results, the study also reveals that a third of Europeans find it acceptable to buy counterfeits if the price of the genuine product is too high, with 13% of Europeans reporting having bought counterfeits intentionally in the last 12 months.

On a country level, the proportion of consumers that have intentionally purchased fakes varies from 24% in Bulgaria to 8% in Finland, while part from Bulgaria, buying fakes intentionally is above the EU average in Spain (20%), Ireland (19%), Luxembourg (19%), and Romania (18%)

Lower prices for genuine products remain the most frequently cited reason (43%) for stopping the purchase of counterfeit goods, with the risk of a bad experience (poor quality products for 27% of respondents and safety risks for 25% and penalties for 21%) also being key factors preventing consumers from buying counterfeit goods.

Disparities between Member States are also significant, with around a quarter of consumers in Denmark and the Netherlands (26%) saying they were unsure whether the product they bought was genuine, which rises to 72% in Romania.

Europeans also show uncertainty about the legality of the sources they use for online content, with 41% wondering whether a source accessed was legal or not

In a statement, EUIPO Executive Director Christian Archambeau said that the latest edition of the IP Perception study provides new relevant insights into the perception of infringement of intellectual property rights and underlines once more the need to support consumers protection, while also confirming positive developments regarding the awareness and availability of digital content from legal sources.

According to the study, Europeans are generally opposed to the use of pirated content, with 80% stating that they prefer to use legal sources to access online content, as long as an affordable option is available.

It is noted that nearly 9 in 10 people are aware of at least one legal option for accessing content in their country and over 4 in 10 Europeans (43%) have paid to access, download or stream copyright-protected material from a legal service in the past year, however, a large majority of Europeans (65%) find piracy acceptable when content is not available on their subscription service.

Moreover, 14% of Europeans admit to having intentionally accessed content from illegal sources in the last 12 months, rising to 1 in 3 (33%) for 15–24-year-olds, especially in the case of watching sports using illicit streaming devices or apps..

The proportion of people accessing pirated content also varies per country, ranging from 9% in Finland and Denmark to 22% in Malta.

Better affordability and a wider choice of content from legal sources are the most mentioned reasons for moving away from pirated content, the Office's statement concludes.