New CIPU report on IP Awareness and Attitudes

In April 2019, the Center for Intellectual Property Understanding (CIPU) published a report regarding IP awareness and attitudes. The report summarizes and collects together 15 studies and surveys focusing on IP awareness and perception among consumers, small businesses and college students.

The main finding of the report is that there is an increasing global disconnect between intellectual property awareness and understanding. The report interestingly points out that even though the general public might know that patents, copyrights and trademarks exist and even that they are valuable, there is a low understanding of why intellectual property is important. This lack of understanding appears to encourage counterfeit purchases and content abuse. It also discourages small businesses from growing.                                                

According to the report, one of the factors causing poor intellectual property understanding and negative attitudes is a common perception that intellectual property only benefits large corporations. At the end of the report, the CIPU suggests that for improving respect for intellectual property, educational programs should make intellectual property topics more relatable to an individual’s circumstances. The report concludes that there is still much work to do in raising awareness about the practical implications of intellectual property on commerce, culture and individual lives.

For more information, please read the whole report here.