“European Citizens and Intellectual Property” is the first EU wide study which provides a comprehensive assessment of citizens’ perceptions of Intellectual Property (IP) and its infringements, both from a qualitative and quantitative point of view.
The study reveals that European citizens value Intellectual Property highly and fully acknowledge its contribution to social and economic well-being. The key findings are:
- 96% of Europeans believe that Intellectual Property (IP) is important because it supports innovation and creativity by rewarding inventors, creators and artists for their work.
- 86% agree that protecting IP contributes to improving the quality of products and services.
- 69% of those questioned value IP because they believe it contributes to the creation of jobs and economic well-being.
- As a result, they condemn IP infringements.
However at individual level, European citizens express some tolerance for IP infringements, in certain cases. Specifically:
- An average of 34% of Europeans thinks that buying counterfeit goods can be justified to save money.
- 38% say purchasing counterfeits can be justified as an act of protest against a market-driven economy.
- 22% think downloading is acceptable when there is no legal alternative and
- 42% of Europeans think this is acceptable for personal use.
The full report is fully available: Final report [en].
