IP Outreach Research > IP Use and Awareness
Reference: |
|
| Title: | Survey on Business Attitudes to Intellectual Property 2004 |
| Author: | [Mercado Solutions Associates Ltd] |
| Source: | Intellectual Property Department (Government of Hong Kong SAR) http://www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/promotion_edu/survey.htm |
| Year: | 2004 |
Details: |
|
| Subject/Type: | IP Knowledge, IP Protection |
| Focus: | Commercialisation, Economic / Financial Impact, Enforcement, Outreach / Education |
| Country/Territory: | Hong Kong, China |
| Objective: | To investigate businesses’ awareness of and attitudes towards intellectual property rights. |
| Sample: | 1.204 business establishments |
| Methodology: | Mail survey |
Main Findings: |
|
| Intellectual property (IP) awareness of Hong Kong business establishments is generally high: about nine in ten respondents were aware that IP covered trademarks (99.9%), copyright (99.5%), patents (97.2%) and designs (89.3%). 95% considered that it was very or quite necessary to protect IP rights in Hong Kong's business environment, while only 2.3% did not. 93% were aware of IP protection legislation. Furthermore, an overwhelming majority of businesses surveyed (95%) considered IPs valuable assets of a company. Accordingly, 88.4% agreed that protecting/registering IP was beneficial to their company (as a protection to prevent others from copying/using their IP; as a means of building up reputation/goodwill, and of earning income). While 40% of respondents considered the IP protection in place adequate, more than half (54.6%) did not. 77.8% supported "raising awareness of IP rights protection/strengthening education", and more than one in two respondents was in favour of more enforcement (54.4%) and harsher penalties for infringements (51.2%). 12.5% of business establishments reported having registered IP (trademarks, patens or designs), whereas a majority (87.5%) had not done so. Larger businesses were more likely to have registered IP. Staff specifically responsible for IP management is not too common: only one in ten businesses reported having any employee(s) responsible for IP management. 40% of respondents would check the Hong Kong trademark register before using/adopting their own trademark, while 60% would not; over 80% reported searching the patent register so as to avoid infringing others' inventions. Most businesses (85.4%) considered IP protection as helpful to the development of local creative industries. Three in four respondents (75.6%) agreed that IP rights protection was helpful for enhancing the creation of business opportunity and wealth, and 67% considered it helpful for Hong Kong's overall economic development. Generally, most business establishments were aware of the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) and its activities; however, knowledge about specific services and activities varied. The most common misconceptions of IPD were that: it receives complaints regarding IP violations (55.2%); it investigates IP infringements (46.4%), and that it combats piracy and counterfeiting (44.4%). The most effective channel for the IPD's advertising and promotional campaigns seems to be TV (with 90.5% encountering IPD activities in that medium), followed by radio (52.7%), print ad/promotional materials (40.9%), and seminars/exhibitions (11.7%). Favourable and unfavourable opinions regarding the effectiveness of IPD's outreach activities were evenly split (45.5% considered them effective, while 47.8% did not). |
|
| [Date Added: Aug 18, 2008 ] | |
