08 | 06 | 2022
EUIPO Published the Report on the Occasion of Celebrating the World Anti-Counterfeiting Day
Source: Intellectual Property and Youth Scoreboard 2022 - EUIPO, June 2022
On the occasion of the World Anti-Counterfeiting Day, which is celebrated on 8 June this year, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) published the Report on the Intellectual Property and Youth – Scoreboard 2022.
This report is a result of research conducted among young citizens of the European Union, repeated periodically every three years, and it covers the perceptions and behaviours of young people regarding respect for intellectual property rights. The data on the results of earlier research work are published on the EUIPO’s webpages here.
Since there has been an increase recorded in the use of copyright content online and the purchase of products through e-commerce in the past, largely as a result of special measures and restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, a study conducted in February 2022 on the sample of 22,021 respondents (aged 15 to 24) from the 27 Member States of the European Union brings the following most important results.
One third or 33% of respondents stated to have used copyright content from illegal online sources over the last twelve months, mostly films, television shows, music, software, live sports events, video-games and e-books; 21% of respondents said to have accessed such sources intentionally whereas 12% state to have not been aware of these sources to be illegal for use of copyright works. However, there are positive trends recorded, because there has been an increase of 10% in the number of young respondents saying they have not used copyright works from illegal sources in the past twelve months (an increase from 50% in 2019 to 60% according to the result of this study) thus making a majority of young people choose rather legal possibilities for the use of works than pirated content.
Furthermore, there has been an increase in the number of purchasing counterfeit products online among youth so that a total of 37% of respondents in this survey stated to have bought at least one fake product online intentionally over the last twelve months. They bought mostly counterfeit clothes and accessories, footwear, electronic devices, and also hygiene, cosmetic and perfume products.
Young people cite lower price of products to be the main reason to buy counterfeits. A part of respondents stated a point of view not to care that a product was a fake, a belief that there was no difference between genuine and counterfeit goods, and it is discernible from statements by one part of respondents that the influence of the environment and their peers has a significant role herein.
The data for Croatia collected in this research show that 31% of respondents stated to have intentionally bought a counterfeit product over the last twelve months, which is less than the average observed at the EU level (a detailed table with the data for all Member States is available on p. 52 of the Report), and 28% of respondents intentionally accessed online services with pirated content. However, 56% of young respondents from Croatia stated to rather access copyright works via legal online services, which is certainly encouraging. The report brings also the data on young people in Croatia and their statements regarding individual questions from this survey so that it is a very useful source of information on standpoints and perceptions of youth in this area.
This is again the opportunity to point out the importance of further education and strengthening awareness of young people regarding the significance of respect and protection of intellectual property and informing them about the importance of careful and informed approach to purchase of products, especially through e-commerce.
Indeed, all counterfeit products are in principle risky as they can pose danger to health and safety of users.
It is important to know that legitimate producers are obliged to comply with prescribed requirements of production and of placing products on the market. On the other hand, producers of counterfeit goods do not respect regulations or standards in production so that by purchasing such products the user may be exposed to health and safety risks, and let us emphasise here that counterfeit medications, food and drink, electronic devices (e.g. mobile phones, batteries and the like), cosmetic and perfume products, toys, pesticides etc. are potentially particularly dangerous counterfeit products.
The full Report on Intellectual Property and Youth – Scoreboard 2022 is available here.
The abstract of the report in Croatian and infographics relevant for Croatia are also available as well as the appropriate video content with Croatian subtitles.