P2P File Sharing Increasing In Hong Kong, Survey Reveals

by Mary Swire, for LawAndTax-News.com, Hong Kong

20 January 2006

Survey results recently released by the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department showed that the number of people who admitted to illegal file-sharing rose from 3.5% in 2004 to 6.8% last year.

Director of Intellectual Property, Stephen Selby observed following publication of the poll that the survey findings have provided a better understanding of Internet file-sharing behaviour among the public, and suggested that the department needs to focus on public education, enforcement and legislation in this area.

Mr Selby stated that while it is encouraging to see an increase in awareness of intellectual property among Hong Kong people, who claim to be buying fewer pirated and counterfeit goods, there is a need to focus on new trends.

"This year, we shall look more closely at legal downloading of files on the Internet to see whether that is gaining more public acceptance," he announced.

The seventh annual survey of this kind showed that public awareness of intellectual property rights had significantly improved, with 84.7% of respondents knowing that the spectrum of rights includes copyright, patents, trademarks and registered designs, compared with just 50.6% who claimed to know this in 1999.

Out of 1,206 respondents, only 0.7% said they would often buy pirated or counterfeit goods, and 14.3% said they would sometimes - markedly less than the 24.7% in 1999.

On Internet usage, 51.3% of respondents said they regularly use the Internet, more than half of them going online for one to three hours daily.

More than 70% of respondents knew that unauthorised Internet file-sharing is an infringement of intellectual property rights

In line with previous years' findings, more than 70% of respondents believed intellectual property protection could help the local creative industries and the overall development of Hong Kong's economy.

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