UK adults turn their nose up at content owners' right to royalties

 

Odiham, UK - 16 July 2009 - Three out of five UK adults don't believe that musicians should profit from their singles and music videos being downloaded online, according to a survey of 2,000 adults carried out for network integration specialist Telindus. The British disdain for content owners profiting from their art online increases when it comes to film and TV makers, with for more than two thirds of UK adults believing that they shouldn't derive any royalties.

With online content royalties a sore subject for UK adults, it is no surprise that 43 per cent of people that download music, films and video games admitted to never paying for content that they were supposed to. Men proved to be the most prolific online pirates with half never paying for content, compared to 38 per cent of women.

 

The reluctance to pay for online content may be due to the fact that confusion is rife over the Intellectual Property rights of material posted on the internet. The majority of consumers view access as a 'free for all'. Only a quarter of people believe that they still own the rights to the content they post on sites such as Facebook, YouTube and MySpace*, almost a fifth (19 per cent) felt that no one had ownership rights to content once it was in the public domain and 37 per cent had no idea who owned online content.

 

The threat of legal action is clearly failing to deter UK adults from illegal downloads. While 59 per cent of people stated that they were aware of the internet piracy laws governing the downloading of digital content and half knew the consequences, a fifth admitted that they knew which websites to visit to illegally download material.  The 16 - 24 year old age group proved to be the most knowledgeable when it came to online piracy, with 57 per cent declaring that they know which websites to visit for illegal content, compared to a third of 25-34 year olds.

 

Mark Hutchinson, managing director of Telindus comments: "We live in a digital age where people have grown accustomed to receiving something for nothing and, as a result, online piracy has exploded. While the Digital Britain report increases the pressure on internet Service Providers as the delivery platform to monitor illegal file-sharing and up the threat of legal action on infringers, this clearly doesn't reduce piracy. The infamous three strikes rule has resulted in limited legal cases and illegal file-sharing continues to rise."

 

"Content providers and ISPs need to work together to develop a structure that ensures that the creators don't miss out on revenues due to piracy and ISPs get rewarded for providing the extra bandwidth and experience required. Most importantly, the right holders and ISPs need to deliver an end user experience that consumers will be demanding and, ultimately, willing to pay for."

 

With increasing demand for video and audio content and the onset of Web 2.0 applications, networks are burgeoning under data volumes and consumers are battling for sufficient bandwidth to support their surfing habits. As a result, people across the UK are crying out for personalised services from their ISPs to ensure the best online experience - half of surfers said they would benefit from dedicated bandwidth when visiting sites such as YouTube, BBC iPlayer and iTunes.  Almost a quarter of surfers polled (22 per cent) would find increased bandwidth for downloads at specific times over the weekend useful.

 

Note to Editors:  The research was carried out online by Opinion Matters / Tickbox.net between 18 / 05 / 2009 and 28 / 05 / 2009 amongst a nationally representative sample of 2,004 UK adults aged 16+.

 

* Proprietary rights
MySpace does not claim any ownership rights in the text, files, images, photos, video, sounds, musical works, works of authorship, applications, or any other materials (collectively, "Content") that you post on or through the MySpace Services.  After posting your Content to the MySpace Services, you continue to retain any such rights that you may have in your Content, subject to the limited license herein http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=misc.terms

 

Facebook: You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how we share your content through your privacy and application settings. http://www.facebook.com/terms.php?ref=pf

 

YouTube: You retain all of your ownership rights in your User Submissions, but you are required to grant limited licence rights to YouTube and other Website users http://www.youtube.com/t/terms

 

About Telindus
Telindus provides businesses, service providers and public sector organisations with networked ICT solutions and services. 

 

With 40 years experience, Telindus invests considerably in building innovative and intelligent networks designed to meet its customers' needs. Telindus provides end-to-end solutions with in-depth knowledge of all IT domains, combining high-level consultancy services with the integration of leading edge products. Telindus' enviable track record and longstanding partnerships with leading equipment suppliers offers a safe route for organisations looking to deploy long-lasting ICT solutions.

 

Telindus are the IT Services Branch of the Belgacom Group, the leading telecommunications company in Belgium. Belgacom are a market leader in a number of areas, including retail and wholesale fixed-line telephony services, mobile communications services, broadband data and Internet services. http://www.belgacom.com/

 

Headquartered in Belgium, Telindus is an ISO 9001:2000 (Quality Management System) and ISO 27001:2005 (Information Security Management System) accredited company. http://www.telindus.com/ http://www.telindus.co.uk/