09.04.2012
Issues of intellectual property protection in Ukraine
- According to the results of the study conducted by the Rating Group, the topic of intellectual property protection in Ukraine is full of contradictions. Ukrainians seem to understand the importance of intellectual property rights, and at the same time are completely unwilling to comply with them, shifting all responsibility onto the authorities. The average Ukrainian is ready to selflessly defend their own intellectual rights and with the same selflessness violate the intellectual rights of others.
- Understanding the importance of intellectual property protection
- Almost 80% of respondents believe that intellectual property rights must be protected (including 58% who believe they must always be protected and 21% who believe they must be protected but not always). Only 4% hold the opposite opinion. Another 17% could not decide on this issue.
- Only 13% of respondents believe that the actions of the authorities to protect intellectual property rights in Ukraine are effective, while 60% believe they are ineffective. Another 27% could not assess this.
- Respect for intellectual property rights in practice
- If a person has the choice to buy a copy of a book reprinted from the original at a lower price than the original and of nearly the same quality, only 13% would refuse the cheap copy and buy the original. Meanwhile, 32% would buy the cheap copy, and 26% would try to obtain it for free (for example, by downloading it from the internet). 30% of respondents could not decide, mainly older people.
- If a person has the choice to buy a copied music, movie, or software disc at a lower price than the original and of nearly the same quality, only 12% would refuse the cheap copy and buy the original. Meanwhile, 25% would buy the cheap copy, and 31% would try to obtain it for free (for example, by downloading it from the internet). 32% of respondents could not decide.
- If a person has the choice to buy clothing counterfeited to imitate a famous global brand at a lower price than the original and of nearly the same quality, only 15% would refuse the cheap copy and buy the original. Meanwhile, 58% would buy the cheap copy. 28% could not decide.
- Thus, nearly 60% of Ukrainians are ready to violate intellectual property rights when buying clothing, books, music, films, or software.
- Clear trends are observed. The younger respondents are, the more often they use the internet, and the higher their education, the more likely they are to reject the original in favor of a cheap copy or a free version. Almost 50% of respondents aged 18–29 would try to download music, films, or software for free, another quarter would buy a cheap copy, and only one in ten would buy the original.
- Responsibility for violating intellectual property rights
- Despite the fact that the absolute majority of respondents are not ready to comply with intellectual property rights in practice, most of them indirectly understand that responsibility for violations should exist.
- Respondents were asked to imagine that they had written a book or music, developed software, or made an invention, and then learned that someone was using it for free and they were receiving nothing.
- After that, 18% agreed that the person should be punished and that criminal liability should apply; 27% believe there should be administrative liability (for example, a fine); another 18% said that a warning is enough the first time, and punishment should apply only if it happens again.
- That is, almost two thirds of respondents would prefer to punish a person who violates their intellectual property rights.
- Only 18% would not support punishment: 11% said they would allow free use as long as authorship is acknowledged, and only 7% said they would actually be happy that others use their invention and no payment is needed. Another 19% could not decide.
- Support for tougher liability is higher among men, middle-aged people, and those with secondary education. Notably, internet users also support tougher liability when their own intellectual property rights are violated.
- The paradox is that nearly 60% of respondents who admitted they would buy pirated discs or try to download music, films, or software for free, also believe that if their own intellectual property rights were violated, responsibility should apply, including 16% who support criminal liability.
Methodology
- Survey audience: population of Ukraine aged 18 and older
- Sample size: 2000 respondents
- Method: face-to-face formalized interviews
- Sampling error (95% confidence): up to ±2.2% (around 50%), ±2% (around 30%), ±1.3% (around 10%), ±1% (around 5%)
- Fieldwork: 15–26 March 2012
- Regional breakdown:
- West – Volyn, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil, Chernivtsi
- Center – Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy
- North – Kyiv city, Kyiv Oblast, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Chernihiv
- South – Crimea, Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Sevastopol
- East – Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv
- Donbas – Donetsk, Luhansk
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