Publishing sector reportedly has the lowest level of illegal downloads in the entertainment industry, with book piracy at half the rate of copyright theft in film and music.
For publishers, fresh from winning a landmark ruling forcing internet service providers to block illegal ebook download sites in Russia and the US, pirates are the enemy. Author Paulo Coelho believes that 'the more people 'pirate' a book, the better'. However, research commissioned by the government shows that that the literary world has the lowest level of illegal downloads in the entertainment industry.
According to the Intellectual Property Office's study into the extent of online copyright infringement in the UK, just 1 percent of UK internet users aged 12 and over read 'at least some' ebooks illegally between March and May 2015. This compares favourably to other forms of entertainment, with 9 percent accessing some of their music illegally, 7 percent television programmes, 6 percent films, and 2 percent computer software and video games.
Kantar Media, which carried out the research, estimates that 7.8m, or 18 percent, of UK internet users aged 12 or over have accessed at least one piece of online content illegally over the period, with 6 percent exclusively consuming illegal content.
When researchers looked at all internet users who consumed content online over the three-month period, (rather than all internet users over 12), they found that 31 percent accessed at least one item illegally. Readers, however, still had the lowest incidence of illegal access, at 11 percent, compared to 25 percent for people watching films and 26 percent for people listening to music.
Further, the survey found that more ebook consumers paid for some content (69%) and for all of their content (47%) than consumers of any other content type.
At the Publishers Association, chief executive Richard Mollet said the IPO study shows that the main reasons why readers prefer legal services over illegal ones are convenience and availability.
