The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has published statistical findings related to copyright infringement in the European Union Member States for the period from 2017 to 2023.
The results of the research mainly focus on piracy, namely piracy of television, films, music, publications, software, sports and other live events, and as a novelty in this report, an examination of piracy with Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is also included as a result of its increased market share.
The research showed that overall piracy has stabilized at around 10.2 accesses per internet user per month.
In terms of individual categories, it is interesting to note that TV piracy in the EU Member States has stabilized at 5.1 accesses per internet user per month in 2023, with this number varying across Member States. Among the factors influencing TV piracy, the study found that youth unemployment has a decreasing impact on piracy, likely due to the fact that unemployed young people live with their parents, who provide access to television legally. In contrast, one of the main factors that led to an increase in piracy was the COVID-19 crisis.
When it comes to film piracy, the study showed a trend of its decrease by 25% in 2023, with an average of 0.9 accesses per internet user per month. In terms of factors influencing this type of piracy, figures show that an increase in GDP per capita and greater awareness of the possibilities for accessing films legally lead to a decrease in film piracy, but unemployment among young people affects its increase.
Music piracy is characterized by the lowest rate of accesses per internet user per month, which is 0.6 accesses, although this figure varies across EU Member States. One of the main factors influencing the increase in music piracy is the high Gini coefficient, i.e. the large income disparity between the population and the tendency for young people to be lenient towards piracy.
Publication piracy in EU Member States stagnated at an average of 2.7 accesses per internet user per month in 2023, with large variations across EU Member States. Japanese comics – manga are the genre that internet users most often accessed, and the high Gini coefficient, i.e. the high inequality, is also cited as one of the main factors influencing the increase in publication piracy.
Software piracy within the EU recorded a growth of 6% in 2023, with an average of 0.9 accesses per internet user per month. Most often, these accesses piracy include access to video games, while the permissive attitude and inclination of young people towards piracy, complemented by the high inequality in individual EU Member States, are the main factors influencing software piracy.
Piracy of sports and other live events in EU Member States peaked in October 2022, with 0.75 accesses per internet user per month, while by the end of 2023 it decreased to 0.53 accesses per internet user per month. The research provides several factors that influence this category of piracy, including relatively low supply in countries with lower GDP per capita, high demand in richer countries, which leads to a significant increase in prices, but also disinterest among users who already had subscriptions to various platforms and applications.
As for IPTV piracy, although the data is scarce, the research has shown that in 2023 there is a trend of its increase, i.e. 2.14% of internet users visited piracy related websites per month.
Although in some areas a decrease in piracy and a decrease in copyright infringements, in general, can be observed, this problem remains relevant, especially in countries where the population is relatively poor. The EUIPO, as well as other competent international and state institutions and bodies, continue their activities aimed at reducing or completely preventing such infringements and enabling the use of goods and services in a legal manner.