A survey result released here Thursday by the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department shows that Hong Kong people are becoming more aware of the importance of protecting intellectual property (IP) rights.

The survey has been conducted annually since it started in 1999. Public awareness about IP rights has significantly improved.

The percentage of respondents who know that IP includes copyright, patents, trademarks and registered designs increased to84.7 percent in 2005, compared with 50.6 percent in 1999.

Out of 1,206 respondents, only 15 percent said that they would often or sometimes buy pirated or counterfeit goods. That is markedly less than the 24.7 percent in 1999.

Regarding concerning file-sharing behavior on the Internet, more than 70 percent of respondents knew that unauthorized file-sharing was an infringement of IP rights and the percentage had increased in 2005. When asked about the frequency of infringing copyright on the Internet, 1.7 percent of respondents admitted that they often or sometimes shared the files with their friends, which is significantly lower than the 10 percent in 2004.

However, the percentage of respondents who admitted to illegal downloading and then uploading files to Internet for the purpose of sharing with others has increased from 3.5 percent in 2004 to 6.8 percent in 2005.

"While it is encouraging to see that awareness of intellectual property among Hong Kong people is increasing and they are buying less pirated and counterfeit goods, we need to focus on new trends," said Director of Intellectual Property Stephen Selby.

(Xinhua News Agency January 20, 2006)