Canadians Are Three Times More Likely Than Americans To Buy Counterfeit Goods, New Poll Finds
But when informed that counterfeiting finances organized crime,86% of Canadians would likely stop buying
CACN
Toronto (Feb. 27, 2007) - A significant number of Canadians - two-fifths of the population - acknowledge purchasing counterfeit goods, a new POLLARA survey finds. Twenty-eight percent of respondents to the national poll admitted knowingly purchasing counterfeit products, while 12 percent said they found out later.
The combined figure is slightly more than triple the proportion found in the United States by Gallup. There, just 13 percent of Americans purchased, copied or downloaded imitation or counterfeit products.
The Canadian numbers give cause for alarm because according to the RCMP, organized crime is a "primary actor" in Canada's multi-billion dollar market for counterfeit products. Interpol has found that the profits from selling counterfeit goods are being used to finance international criminal organizations and global terrorism.
"This is an dismaying number, much higher than expected. It shows that our government's failure to effectively address intellectual property crime has led to wide-spread acceptance of product counterfeiting in Canada," said Brian Isaac, Chair of the Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network (CACN) Legislation Committee, and a partner with Smart & Biggar, Canada's largest IP law boutique.
However, the poll, conducted by POLLARA on behalf of the CACN, a non-profit coalition united in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy, also revealed that, when Canadians are informed that proceeds of the counterfeit market go to organized crime, the vast majority (86 percent) would be less likely to buy counterfeit products.
"If there is a silver lining here, it is the evidence that Canadians will refrain from buying counterfeit goods when they know about the involvement of organized crime," said Lorne Lipkus, Chair of the CACN Education and Training Committee and a partner with Kestenberg Siegal Lipkus LLP, a leading anti-counterfeiting law firm. "This tells us that, if we pass the right laws, empower our police forces, and educate our citizens, then we can solve this problem."
The study also found that 90 percent of Canadians completely or somewhat agree that people are more likely to buy or sell counterfeits because there is little chance of being caught. Duncan McKie, Vice Chair, POLLARA remarked, "Given widespread awareness that the legal consequences for counterfeiting in Canada are minimal, people will continue buying and selling counterfeit goods. This creates an ongoing economic risk. When so many Canadians knowingly buy knockoffs instead of legitimate products, significant economic fallout is inevitable."
Another surprising poll finding was the low awareness by Canadians of the counterfeiting of everyday items. Just 19 percent of respondents were aware that extension cords are counterfeited, 30 percent were aware that batteries are counterfeited and 49 percent were aware that drugs and other medicines are counterfeited.
"Counterfeit products are generally inferior and raise significant health and safety risks to consumers. The lack of knowledge of counterfeiting of products that pose fire, explosion or direct health risks increases the extent to which such products put Canadians at risk," said Doug Geralde, Chair of CACN and a director at CSA (Canadian Standards Association) International.
The survey also found that purchases of counterfeit goods displace legitimate commerce. About half of those who bought counterfeit movies, music or software would have purchased the genuine version had they not purchased a copy (for movies, the figure was 45 percent; music, 43 percent; and software, 44 percent).
"This indicates a troubling and significant economic cost," Carol Osmond, vice chair of CACN and senior policy advisor to the Canadian Association of Importers and Exporter said. "But there is also good news in this for Canada's economy," added Osmond, noting that reduced counterfeiting would boost sales of legitimate products and spur innovation and investment as entrepreneurs grow more confident that their creative products and ideas would not be pirated.
Additional Survey Highlights
- · 70 percent of respondents favour heavy fines as a deterrent to counterfeiting; 43 percent favour jail time; and just 4 percent would "leave things as they are."
- · Canadians are aware that the odds of getting caught or prosecuted for selling counterfeit goods in Canada are low. About 68 percent of respondents agreed that sellers "almost never" or "seldom" get caught. Only 1 percent believes they are "often" caught.
- · 90 percent of Canadians believe people are more likely to buy or sell counterfeit goods because there is little chance of being caught.
- · Of the respondents who have purchased counterfeit goods, the most common items were clothing (41 percent), watches (28 percent), sunglasses (25 percent), handbags/purses (21 percent), movies (20 percent) and computer software (17 percent).
- · 55 percent describe the quality of the counterfeit goods they purchased as "a lot poorer than the genuine;" 34 percent said the quality is the same; and less than 1 percent said it is "a lot better."
The POLLARA Online Poll is based on a Feb. 16-20, 2007 survey of 2,034 online households, selected at random from the Canadian online population. Currently, POLLARA estimates that 70 percent of Canadians have access to the Internet. Respondents are selected based on their participation in POLLARA national surveys conducted by telephone. The poll has an estimated sampling error of plus or minus 2.2 percent in 19 out of 25 cases. The complete survey results are available at www.cacn.ca.
About CACN
The Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network (CACN) is a non-profit coalition of stakeholders that have united in the fight against product counterfeiting and copyright piracy in Canada and internationally. Members include broad-based organizations and companies from a range of industries as well as law firms representing intellectual property rights holders. CACN's mission is to significantly reduce and ultimately eliminate the manufacture, importation, distribution and sale of counterfeit products in Canada and abroad through public education, training of law enforcement, and lobbying for legislative change and increased resources. CACN can be found online at
