Online copyright infringement down in Australia, says report

Online copyright infringement has dropped in Australia, according to a new report from the country’s Department of Communications and the Arts.

The report, called “Consumer survey on online copyright infringement 2018”, was released on Tuesday, August 7. 

According to the research, streaming sites such as Netflix have shifted consumers’ attitude towards legally downloading and streaming online content.

The report, which analysed methods of consuming TV series, movies, music and video games, showed that while legal consumption has increased, online copyright infringement across these mediums has dropped.

This year, lawfully-consumed digital content has risen to 67% of all content consumed online, compared to 62% last year.

“When looking collectively at all four content types, there is a greater proportion of consumers that are 100% lawful in 2018 compared to previous years,” said the report.

“This finding is consistent with the view that legal streaming services are increasingly being used by digital content consumers and having a positive impact on the reduction of, or need for, unlawful consumption.”

The report showed that males were responsible for 52% of unlawfully-consumed content with females making up the rest. People aged between 45 and 54 were identified as being the age group who had the highest proportion of infringers.

The most popular answer among the survey’s participants for paying for online content was that it is easier and more convenient than sourcing infringing content.

This was followed by people saying that it is quicker to pay for lawful content and that it is better quality.

Site-blocking is an effective deterrent to people committing copyright infringement, the report concluded.

In total, 57% of participants said that they would “give up” or “seek alternative lawful access” if they encountered a blocked site. Just 7% said they would try to bypass such a site.