In the European Union, Hungarians are the most aware of what intellectual property is, and only 9 percent of Hungarian consumers tend to be unsure when it comes to recognizing fake products, according to the latest study by the Intellectual Property Office of the European Union – informed the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (SZTNH ) the MTI on Monday.
According to the analysis, 83 percent of the respondents at the EU level said that they understood the concept of intellectual property very well or well. However, understanding differs significantly from country to country: Hungary and Portugal are in first place with 92% and 92% respectively, while in Denmark it is only 49% and in Sweden, this ratio is 47%.
The study also examined consumer attitudes toward counterfeit goods. Hungarian consumers are also at the forefront in that few people intentionally buy illegal products, only 9 percent of them bought such. This figure was 26 percent each in Denmark and the Netherlands, 31 percent in Bulgaria, and 72 percent in Romania.
Regarding illegal content available on the Internet, only 24 percent of Danes said that they consider it acceptable to obtain content from the Internet illegally for personal use, while 58 percent of Slovaks and 56 percent of Slovenians think so. Among Hungarian respondents, this rate is 54 percent.
According to the survey, 12 percent of Europeans only watched sports broadcasts via illegal sources last year. In Hungary, this proportion was only 6 percent, while in Greece and Bulgaria, 20-21 percent of sports fans chose illegal channels.
Péter Lábody, the deputy president of the SZTNH, drew attention in the statement of the office to the fact that the respect of intellectual property rights is extremely important for inventors and creators, it is partly also the source of their livelihood. The SZTNH emphasizes the importance of the protection of intellectual property and joint action against counterfeits, forgery, and online piracy in every forum, he said.
