Nine out of ten respondents consider copyrights to be important. How Finnish people view copyrights has remained approximately the same as in previous years. Only two per cent consider copyrights to be rather or very unnecessary. In general, the figures correspond with the results in previous years.
The responses to questions about the restrictive nature and comprehensibility of copyrights also reflect the results in previous years. More Finnish people consider copyrights to be enabling factors (48%) rather than restrictive factors (13%). Copyrights are comprehensible to 38% of Finnish people, whereas about a quarter consider them to be difficult to understand.
Positive attitude towards authors in creative industries
Finnish people have much respect towards authors in creative industries. More than half value authors in creative industries as much as professionals in other industries, and more than one in three respondents say that they respect authors in creative industries very much and that they are grateful for their work. Only two per cent of the respondents indicated that they do not value authors in creative industries.
The Copyright Barometer also included questions about how the people view copyright organisations. More than three out of four respondents consider the organisations to be necessary, and nearly the same number of respondents think the organisations are in the right. Overall, men view copyright organisations more critically than women. The most positive attitude towards the organisations is among respondents aged 15–24 and over 50.
Copyright remunerations are considered to be justified
Finnish people have a very positive attitude towards copyright remunerations. The remunerations are considered both justified (83% of respondents) and necessary (84%). The older the respondent’s age, the more positive was their attitude towards remunerations.
92% of the respondents thought that authors in creative industries should be compensated for their work according to how much their works are used. 77% thought that the authors should also be compensated for any copies produced of their works and the use of their works for educational purposes.
The views of the respondents regarding the amount of remunerations were more diverse. More than one in three considered the current remunerations to be fair, while about 25% were neutral about them. Only about 8% considered the remunerations to be too large.
Coronavirus pandemic affects the use of works
According to the study, the coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on the use of digital culture and entertainment content. About a third of the respondents said that their use of digital services has increased as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The use of these services has increased the most among the youngest respondents, with up to 49% of respondents aged 15–24 saying that they use more of the services.
More than 33% of the respondents said that they have subscribed to a film or series streaming service, while 20% have subscribed to an audiobook service during the coronavirus pandemic. Only one per cent of the respondents stated that they have stopped using the services during the coronavirus pandemic.
Listening to the radio online increased from last year’s figures. Now, about 50% of Finnish people listen to live broadcasts and recorded programmes, such as podcasts, by accessing the online services of radio stations.
The Copyright Barometer also included questions about how Finnish people view piracy and acquire the content they use. Learn more about the results and other studies on the CIAPC website.
The results are based on the Copyright Barometer, a study commissioned by the Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Centre and performed by Taloustutkimus for the fourteenth time. The material was collected through personal interviews and an online survey as part of the Omnibus study of Taloustutkimus. The data collection was performed 7–25 October 2020 and the total number of respondents was 1,282.