“People in Hong Kong are becoming more and more conscious about IP rights and pirated/counterfeit goods because of the Hong Kong government’s continuous efforts in the past years in educating the public about the importance of respecting IPs through various advertising,” says Loo.

On the channels through which pirated or counterfeit goods were purchased, physical shops (32.9 percent) remained the most frequently cited channel, followed by street stalls (32.4 percent) and online shops/auction sites (24.5 percent). However, when compared with the findings of previous surveys, there has been a declining trend in respect of physical shops (47.3 percent in 2016) whereas a continuous increase is observed for online shops/auction sites (10.4 percent in 2016).

With online shopping becoming more popular, 83.9 percent of the respondents who purchased products with brand(s) or logo(s) online would pay attention to whether the products were genuine, which reflected a significant increase from the results in 2018 (67 percent).

“The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly accelerated the shift from in-person to online shopping around the world including Hong Kong. I believe Hong Kong, like the rest of the world, is facing a significant increase in the trading of counterfeit goods online, particularly from the sale of counterfeit goods via social media live streaming to avoid detection. Since the pandemic, the Hong Kong Customs has been very vigilant in monitoring and shutting down webpages selling counterfeit products and arresting counterfeiters. Before the pandemic, when consumers still purchase products from physical stores, it was easier for shoppers to distinguish genuine products from counterfeits because they can touch and feel the products. However, online shopping has made it more difficult for consumers to distinguish between genuine and counterfeit because consumers are unable to inspect the products physically. Furthermore, most counterfeiters will also use photographs of genuine products to deceive consumers into believing that the products are genuine, or more commonly these days, to briefly display counterfeit products in a short few seconds through live streaming,” Loo says. “With the boom of online shopping now, and with most brand owners going digital, consumers need to be vigilant about the products they are buying and who they are buying from. If a product seems too good to be true, that should raise a first red flag.”

With regard to the use of copyright content, 57.2 percent of the respondents indicated that they “definitely will” or “possibly will” pay authorized websites for listening to songs, watching movies online or downloading songs/movies/computer software/games/e-books, representing a continued upward trend since 2008 (21 percent). The top three reasons cited for making a payment were the same as the findings in the 2018 survey, namely “respect IP rights” (35.9 percent), “give support to creative industries” (32.3 percent), and “for better quality” (23.4 percent).

On the attitude of using copyright content, 80.1 percent of the respondents agreed that “it is morally wrong to listen to music or watch movies/TV shows online knowing that they were pirated versions,” which is noticeably higher than the percentage in the 2018 survey (70.2 percent).

“With subscriptions to online media content (be it music or movies) becoming more and more affordable in Hong Kong (for example, Netflix’s subscription price starts from as low as HK$63 (US$9) per month), I believe people in Hong Kong are finding it much easier to access media content from legitimate sources (where they can have stable access anytime and anywhere) rather than spending time trying to find illegal sources to stream or download media content, and then having to put up with the unstable access and poor quality content,” says Loo.

The “No Fakes Pledge” Scheme has been rolled out by the IPD and a number of retail and industry associations, where “No Fakes” stickers will be displayed in shops to help shoppers distinguish reliable traders selling genuine goods. The survey revealed that 77.3 percent of the respondents had heard of the scheme, which is a record high since 2008 (50.1 percent). Among those who were aware of the scheme, 87.7 percent considered the scheme helpful in building confidence among consumers and tourists in shopping in Hong Kong, and strengthening Hong Kong’s reputation as a “shoppers’ paradise.”

Johnny Chan