Digital piracy is declining across all content types – including TV programmes, music, and film – in Europe and the United Kingdom, a major study has revealed.
The report, published by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), examined the consumption of copyright-infringing content between January 2017 and December 2020.
Here are the major findings.
Digital piracy down overall
According to the research, digital piracy – defined as illegal streaming, downloading, torrents or ripping software – is down across all content types in the three years to December 2020.
Overall, piracy decreased by 20 per cent in 2018, six per cent in 2019, and 34 per cent in 2020.
The only exception to this was a temporary increase in film piracy in the spring of 2020 – the height of the coronavirus pandemic – when lawful access to media may have been limited by lockdowns.
The analysis is based on a rich set of data on access to websites offering pirated music, film, and TV programmes – which includes over 240 thousand aggregates for a total of 133 billion accessed – in EU Member States and the United Kingdom.
Music
Music piracy decreased by 48 per cent in 2018, by 30 per cent in 2019, and by 41 per cent in 2020.
Film
Film piracy decreased by 16 per cent in 2018, by five per cent in 2019, and by 51 per cent in 2020.
TV
TV piracy decreased by 15 per cent in 2018, by one per cent in 2019, and by 27 per cent in 2020.
Legal offers preventing piracy
The report suggests that awareness of legal offers “appears to reduce consumption of pirated content” overall. For example, a higher number of legal platforms for films and TV channels, such as Netflix, Now TV, and Disney+, reduced the consumption of pirated content in a specific country.
Online copyright infringement a “serious problem” for rights owners
Commenting on the findings, the EUIPO said: “Online copyright infringement is a serious problem for the rights owners and for society as a whole. It deprives artists and creators of compensation for their work, and in the long run it may reduce the range of choices available to consumers.
“Recognising this, the European Commission identified fighting this type of copyright infringement as one of the priorities in its IP Action Plan.”
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