The EUIPO report, Online copyright infringement in the European Union, 2017-2020, revealed that digital piracy, measured by the average number of monthly accesses per Internet user to infringing websites, decreased by 34% in 2020 compared to the previous year.
The decrease in piracy occurred in all types of content. Film piracy fell by 51%, music by 41% and television by 27%. The TV It is the most pirated type of content, accounting for 70% of hits on infringing websites in 2020, followed by cinema (20%) and music (10%).
The report confirms the downward trend in piracy that was also observed in the previous 2019 study. Overall, piracy in Europe decreased by 11% in 2017, 20% in 2018, 6% in 2019 and 34 % in 2020.
The study also highlights that there was a temporary spike in movie piracy during March and April 2020, coinciding with the confinement by COVID-19 in several EU countries. However, the increase reversed after the lockdown, and piracy gradually declined during the summer and fall of 2020.
Christian archambeau, Executive Director of the EUIPO, has stated that: “Despite the positive and continuing decline in the consumption of pirated content shown in the study, there is still much work to be done to address infringement of intellectual property rights online. At EUIPO, we will continue to raise awareness and provide data to assist decision makers in developing new policies and solutions in this area.“.
It has been proven that availability of legal offers and the citizen awareness Regarding these offers, they have an impact on the reduction of piracy. This confirms the usefulness of initiatives such as the program agorateka EUIPO (the European online content portal) and its awareness-raising efforts.
Despite the positive figures, piracy remains a major problem across the EU, with differences between Member States. The typical EU surfer accessed content that infringed copyright 5.9 times per month in 2020. Latvian users accessed such websites twice, almost fourteen times a month, while Polish users accessed less than four times a month. Although slightly below, Spain is close to the EU average, with users accessing pirated content 5.7 times a month.
The most used method to access pirated content is the real-time viewing via the internet or streaming. More than 80% of the total piracy in the EU in 2020 was carried out through this method. The music, television and film sectors are undergoing major changes in recent years, with an increase in broadcast services in streaming internet based.
Among the factors that could influence the consumption of pirated content in the EU, the report notes that the level of per capita income and the degree of income inequality may have an impact. Likewise, the general attitude of citizens towards piracy and the infringement of intellectual property rights influences the consumption of pirated content.