8 August, 2015
On 22 July 2015, the Australian and United Kingdom (UK) Governments released research regarding online copyright infringement in Australia and the UK. Both countries conducted surveys between March and May 2015 to gauge the prevalence of online copyright infringement in each country, to pinpoint what attitudes drive infringement and to determine the role pricing plays in lawful and unlawful access of online content.
The Australian survey interviewed 2,630 internet users between 25 March and 13 April 2015 and found that 43% of Australians who had consumed digital content had consumed at least one of those files illegally, compared to 21% in the UK.
The survey also asked participants why they choose to infringe, to which 55% responded because "it is free", 51% due to convenience, 45% due to speed, 35% because users can try before buying and 30% because legal content is too expensive.
While many survey participants shared that they would be more likely to stop infringing if legal content was cheaper, more available and had the same global release date, only 21% of participants would be encouraged to stop infringing if they received a letter from their ISP telling them that their account would be suspended.
View Online Copyright Infringement Research report
For further information, please contact:
Gordon Hughes, Ashurst
gordon.hughes@ashurst.com
