Intellectual property violations remain a widespread habit among new generations.
Three sectors were most affected: clothing, tech and online entertainment.
Around 1 in 3 boys (33%) admit to having bought a fake branded dress, pair of shoes or accessory at least once.
Over 4 in 10 (42%) have done the same with technological products "clones" of the originals.
But online things are even worse.
2 out of 3 young people (66%) have watched films, TV series or sporting events using pirated sites.
And even when you pay, the conditions of use are not always respected: 1 in 2 (50%) usually use passwords shared with people outside the family unit to access streaming services, such as Netflix or Spotify.
There is also no shortage of those who don't think about paying at all: 3 out of 10 (30%) use cracked apps and software to avoid signing up for a subscription.
This identikit is outlined by the Skuola.net portal which interviewed 2,500 young people between 11 and 25 years old, as part of the educational project 'No Fake, Be Real', an initiative supported by Euipo, the Office of European Union for Intellectual Property.
However, the dynamics are changing and the era of the decoder which allows you to watch satellite or pay channels for free, the so-called "pezzotto" seems to be coming to an end: 11% have experienced it in their family, but almost half of these have soon abandoned and today only a small 6% still own it.
If in the case of clothing and technology on average it is a habit for 1 in 10 to look for counterfeit products, as regards streaming that is illegal or in violation of the contract terms set by the various platforms the share rises to a third of the sample (33% ).
Very often, what seems to be missing is full awareness of the consequences of these behaviors.
On the one hand, in fact, almost 1 in 3 (31%) give in to the temptation to save even if they are aware of any possible consequences.
But 1 in 5 (20%) are those who do not realize they are fueling pockets of illegality.
The research shows that 20% have purchased the credentials of accounts shared by strangers, while 24% have shared theirs with others, thus opening up to an uncontrolled dissemination of personal data.
However, there is half of young people (49%) who avoid all this because they are aware that, by doing so, they would enter the vicious circle.
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