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UK sees drop in piracy among 16-24 year olds

Infringement levels within the age group are down seven per cent since 2015 according to Online Copyright Infringement tracker

By Jenny Priestley

The amount of 16-24 year olds illegally streaming content has seen a drop in the last two years according to new figures from the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

The IPO’s latest Online Copyright Infringement tracker reveals piracy among 16-24 year olds has seen a seven per cent drop since 2015 and a decrease of five per cent in the use of illegal services since 2013.

However, the report states overall levels of piracy remain the same compared to 2017.

Key findings from the tracker include:

  • the UK has a lower overall infringement rate (25 per cent of online content consumers) than both Canada (26 per cent) and Australia (38 per cent)
  • levels of infringement varied by content type. TV programmes recorded the highest levels of infringement (23 per cent amongst consumers of TV), with music (18 per cent) and films (19 per cent). Whereas infringement of software has decreased from 26 per cent in 2017 to 20 per cent this year. Infringement of sports content was 21 per cent
  • an increase in the share of consumers citing convenience, quality and fears of viruses/malware/spyware as reasons for choosing paid for services over free services
  • 65 per cent of those who consumed any of the six key content types during the past three months paid for at least some of it (an increase from 60 per cent in 2017), this is partly due to increased spend on subscription services
  • amongst infringers there was a decline in the use of BitTorrent software (from 11 per cent of infringers in 2017 to 7 per cent this year), while the use of Kodi remained relatively unchanged (used by 12 per cent of infringers)

Sam Gyimah, Minister for IP, said: “The variety of legitimate services now available to consumers is extraordinary and our world-leading creative industries have made great strides in meeting the demands of viewers and fans, so there really is no excuse for the ongoing use of illegal services.

“Today’s findings are a positive step forward in stamping out online copyright infringement, but we cannot afford to be complacent. We are committed to tackling piracy and helping this vibrant sector go from strength to strength through our Creative Industries Sector Deal, a major part of our modern Industrial Strategy.”