About 95% of the respondents to an intellectual property rights protection survey say IP rights must be protected in Hong Kong.
The Intellectual Property Department study found 90% of people are aware there is legislation protecting copyright, trademarks and patents, while 60% are aware of legislation protecting registered designs.
Most respondents said IP rights protection will help local creative industries to develop (70.9%) and boost Hong Kong’s economic development (63.1%).
Only 7.4% of respondents said they often or sometimes buy pirated or counterfeit goods, down from 8.5% in the last survey.
More than one-third of Internet users (38.8%) said they would pay to listen to songs, watch movies online or download digital products from authorised websites, quoting better quality (51.2%), respecting IP rights (32%), and giving support to creative industries (23.8%) as the top reasons.
Of the 60.6% saying they would not pay, the top three reasons were too expensive (23.4%), too troublesome or complicated to purchase online (19%), and the availability of free downloading channels (17.8%).
The survey also showed that more people aged below 30 had engaged in online IP infringing acts, or did not consider such acts to be morally wrong.
On the No Fakes Pledge, nearly half of respondents (48.7%) said they had heard of the scheme, and 87% of them considered it helpful in building consumer confidence.
Releasing the findings today, Director of Intellectual Property Ada Leung said it is encouraging to see IP rights protection awareness and respect remains high.
She said the department will boost public awareness on the issue, especially among young people, through various educational and promotional channels.
