This section presents the key findings derived from a comprehensive analysis of the collected data, providing insights into the perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors of the target population regarding IP rights and their influence on the economy.
The analysis includes comparative results from the 2023 and 2025 results, highlighting significant trends and shifts over the two-year period. This longitudinal approach enables a deeper understanding of evolving attitudes and emerging patterns related to IP rights globally. Methodological consistency across both survey waves ensures valid comparisons over time and allows observed changes to be interpreted as genuine trends. The inclusion of 24 additional countries in the 2025 survey further enhances the reliability of both regional and global estimates. Notably, the inclusion of these new countries did not produce a statistically significant impact on either the overall global results or the regional estimates.
Awareness of IP rights – global picture
A well-informed and aware consumer base is more likely to appreciate the value of innovation, branding, and creativity, recognizing the efforts and investments involved in creating new products, services, and technologies. This understanding could foster and enhance a culture of respect for intellectual property (IP), encouraging creators and innovators to continue developing novel solutions that address societal needs. Given this relationship between public awareness and innovation outcomes, policy makers may use public awareness trends as an additional indicator to measure the health and future potential of the innovation and creative ecosystem.
The 2025 global WIPO Pulse survey reveals a significant increase in the awareness indices
Globally, consumers
However, the awareness levels of IP rights vary not only by the subject matter but also across and within different world regions.
Awareness of IP rights – regional outlook
When consumers recognize the importance of protecting IP, they become more conscientious about supporting legitimate businesses and acknowledging that creators deserve proper recognition and fair compensation for their work. The WIPO Pulse survey endeavors to establish a foundational awareness baseline, track its development over time, and assess its impact on consumer behavior and attitude shifts. The 2025 results (Figure 3) show an evolving regional awareness outlook that reflects how consumer knowledge of IP rights has changed since 2023.
The 2025 findings indicate that consumers from the Asia-Pacific states drive the overall global awareness, with all five IP rights showing significant gains in awareness indices.
Consumers in Western European and other states show increased awareness specifically for trademarks, while maintaining stable levels for other IP right categories.
In Latin American and Caribbean states, awareness indices for copyright, trademarks and geographical indications are notably high. Overall, awareness levels in this region remain relatively stable.
Consumers from Eastern European states demonstrate the highest awareness indices for patents, copyright and geographical indications compared to other regions. However, there is a slight decline over time in awareness for trademarks and copyright.
While consumers from African states exhibit high awareness of copyright, the newest survey data indicates a decline when compared to 2023. Additionally, awareness of designs has slightly decreased, whereas awareness of trademarks and patents remains stable.
This evolving landscape underscores the importance of targeted awareness campaigns and policy initiatives to further strengthen IP understanding worldwide. The varied regional patterns could be used to develop differentiated strategies that may complement more uniform global approaches.
Perception of IP rights
The survey assesses consumer perceptions
Supporting fair income for creators and innovators
The survey findings reaffirm that consumers recognize the importance of IP rights protection in ensuring fair income for inventors, authors, designers and producers. This acknowledgment is strongly evident across all five world regions and reinforces the societal value of IP rights and the IP system. However, some of these beliefs show a declining trend, particularly among consumers in Eastern European states.
Trust and credibility
Consumers worldwide perceive IP-protected products as trustworthy. This suggests that consumers purchase these products with confidence, trusting in their authenticity, quality and safety. The perception of trustworthiness is strongest in African states, Latin American and Caribbean states, as well as in the Asia-Pacific states.
Perceived value for money
Overall, consumer perceptions of the value proposition of IP-protected products reveal mixed attitudes. Four of the five world regions show moderate or decreasing levels of perceived value for all types of IP rights, with the lowest perceived value for patents and the highest for trademarks and geographical indications. Consumers in African states demonstrate stable attitudes towards all types of IP-protected products, perceiving them as offering better value for money.
IPR-protected products as first choice
When consumers consider IP-protected products as their first choice, it reflects a preference influenced by the overall perceptions of innovation, quality, fairness and other benefits. However, survey findings suggest that this point of view does not necessarily prevail. The strongest and most growing positive perceptions are observed among consumers in African states. In contrast, consumers in Western European and other states and Eastern European states continue to demonstrate doubts toward choosing a product just for being IP-protected.
Among types of IP rights, copyright is the only category showing some positive development in Western European and other states when it comes to choosing IP-protected products. Latin American and Caribbean states demonstrate stable attitudes across the five types of IP rights with the exception of designs, where the values have decreased significantly.
In summary, consumers strongly agree that IP protection ensures fair income for creators and enhances product trustworthiness. However, they are less consistently convinced that IP-protected products offer better value for money or represent their preferred choice when making purchases.
Individual perceptions of innovation benefits and brand encounters
Understanding public attitudes toward IP benefits from conducting an examination on how individuals personally experience and interact with innovation in their daily lives. This section explores two dimensions that shape broader IP perceptions: the personal benefits people derive from innovations across key sectors of their lives, and their frequency of encounters with brands in IP-intensive industries. These baseline measures of innovation appreciation and commercial brand awareness provides insights to better understand the experiential context that influences public attitudes toward IP rights and related public policies.
The results reveal variations across the countries surveyed, highlighting how personal innovation experiences and brand familiarity create the perceptual framework through which people view the broader IP landscape.
Perceived benefits
Consumers across all five regions predominantly perceive the greatest benefits from innovations in ‘Digital Communication,’ followed by ‘Food and Nutrition,’ ‘Household Appliances’ and ‘Computer Technology.’
In Western European and other states, there is a notable decline in the perceived benefits of innovation across all sectors measured in this survey (Figures 5a, 5b and 5c). This downward trend is particularly driven by consumers in the United States, where reduced perceived benefits across all measured areas is observed. Similarly, consumers in countries such as Türkiye and Germany are showing decreased confidence in the advantages offered by innovations in several sectors.
In Latin American and Caribbean states, only ‘Digital Communication’ and ‘Computer Technology’ have experienced declines in perceived benefits. Within this region, Mexico shows a decrease across nearly all areas, while Colombia and Argentina also report declines in a few sectors.
Consumers from Eastern European states, which already perceived the least benefit from innovations in the 2023 survey, continue to display a relatively stable outlook. Although some decreases are observed, particularly in Poland, Romania and Hungary, the overall perception remains largely consistent.
The Asia-Pacific states demonstrate a generally stable trend, with high overall confidence in innovation benefits. However, country-level variations show both increases and decreases in perceived benefits. Consumers in China show declines in perceived benefits, except for ‘Household Appliances’ and ‘Digital Communication,’ where perceptions have improved. Also, consumers in Japan and Kazakhstan show increased confidence across multiple categories. On the positive side, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates exhibit more positive views in nearly half of the measured categories. However, Viet Nam diverges from this pattern, experiencing significant declines in perceived benefits across nearly all areas.
In African states, perceptions of benefits from innovation have increased, except for technology-related categories such as ‘Digital Communication,’ ‘Computer Technology,’ and ‘Electrical Tools and Machines.’ Notably, consumers in countries including the Republic of Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola, Ghana and Nigeria perceive heightened confidence in innovations and their benefits across multiple categories.
In summary, while country trends vary, a clear pattern of shifting perceptions emerge: some regions and countries demonstrate growing confidence innovation benefits, whereas others show declining trust in the value that innovation provides.
Consumer perception of brands
The findings (Figure 6) illustrate the interconnectedness of economies and cultures. Overall, the data reveal a relatively homogeneous pattern of consumer behavior across different global regions and product categories. Notably, Western European and other states and Eastern European states show marginally lower levels of brand encounters within the surveyed product categories compared to other regions.
Comparing results between survey waves highlights some significant shifts in several categories. For example, the ‘Food and Beverages’ category shows both increases and decreases in consumer engagement over time in four regions, while Eastern European states demonstrate no significant change.
Similarly, the ‘Mobile Phones’ and ‘Restaurants’ categories demonstrate fluctuations, with some global regions experiencing increased consumer touchpoints while others show declines. Consumer perception in African states regarding brands in these categories have remained relatively stable over time.
The most significant changes are occurring in Western European and other states, with a substantial decline across all categories and industries. While this trend is primarily driven by the downward movement in the United States, other countries in the region also show notable declines in specific categories.
Awareness and perception of IP rights among women and youth
IP rights among women and youth: awareness and perceptions
The IP landscape is experiencing dynamic shifts in awareness and perceptions, particularly among two critical demographic groups that represent both current and future stakeholders in the global innovation economy. Women and youth, as key demographics with distinct perspectives and needs, demonstrate varying levels of IP rights awareness and hold diverse perceptions about the value of IP-protected products across different regions and IP categories.
These demographic groups provide insights into how effectively IP systems are communicating their value proposition and reaching diverse audiences globally.
Understanding their awareness levels and perceptions towards IP rights could enhance the development of inclusive IP policies and targeted outreach strategies that can foster broader public support for IP policies.
The following analysis reveals significant regional variations and complex patterns of change, highlighting both progress in IP awareness building and areas requiring focused attention.
These insights provide guidance for policymakers, IP offices, and stakeholders seeking to enhance public understanding and appreciation of IP rights among these influential demographic segments.
Awareness of IP rights – women and youth
The survey reveals nuanced shifts in women and youth awareness of the different IP rights. These changes provide insights that can inform targeted policy and outreach strategies for each demographic group.
While the Asia-Pacific states drive the overall increase in global awareness of IP rights, the findings indicate that awareness in this region has also grown among both youth and women across all five types of IP rights (Figures 7 and 8).
Western European and other states have also seen increased awareness among youth for all five IP rights. Awareness among women in this region has increased for trademarks and copyright.
While awareness indices among women in Latin American and Caribbean states remained stable for all five IP rights, a decreased awareness of patents and trademarks was observed among youth in this region.
Women from Eastern European states demonstrate the highest awareness indices for patents, copyright, and geographical indications compared to other regions, despite the decrease in indices for trademarks and copyright. However, youth awareness in Eastern European states declined across all five IP rights. In African states, the findings show decreased awareness scores for designs and copyright among both women and youth.
Perception of IP rights – women and youth
The survey reveals nuanced shifts in how women and youth perceive the value and benefits of IP-protected products. These perception changes vary significantly by IP right type and region, providing insights that can inform targeted policy and outreach strategies.
Patents: An increasingly optimistic outlook regarding patented products is evident among women and young people in African states. Conversely, the perception has declined among women in Asia-Pacific states. The lowest confidence in patented products remains among both women and youth in Western European and other states, as well as in Eastern European states, indicating uncertainty in these regions.
Trademarks: The perception of trademarks has weakened among women in Eastern European states and Asia-Pacific states. Similarly, youth in Asia-Pacific states show decreased confidence in trademarks. Interestingly, the perception of trustworthiness of branded products has increased among women in Latin American and Caribbean states. However, youth in Western European and other states are less inclined to prioritize trademarked goods as their primary choice, reflecting regional differences in brand perception and trust.
Designs: The perception of designs has experienced a significant decline among young people in Western European and other states. Additionally, the belief that design-registered products are easier to use and offer better value for money has decreased among women in both Latin American and Caribbean and Asia-Pacific states. Youth in Eastern European states now show a markedly reduced willingness to select IPR-protected goods as their primary option, indicating shifting attitudes towards design protections.
Copyright: In Western European and other states, women increasingly perceive copyrighted products as offering better value for money and being their first choice. However, the belief in the originality of copyright-protected products has declined among youth in this region. Both women and youth in Eastern European states have shown decreasing perceptions regarding fair income for authors. Overall, there is increased doubt about copyright-protected products in Asia-Pacific states among both demographic groups. Conversely, youth in African states demonstrate a strengthening belief in the value and importance of copyright-protected products.
Geographical Indications (GIs): Perceptions of products bearing registered GIs have declined in two key regions: Western European and other states, and Asia-Pacific states. In contrast, youth in Latin American and Caribbean states, as well as in African states, strongly associate GI protected products with better value for money and greater authenticity, highlighting regional differences in appreciation and trust toward GI protection.
The role of IP rights in the economy
Public understanding of intellectual property’s economic impact represents a critical dimension of IP perception, as consumer beliefs about the economic benefits and challenges of IP rights can potentially influence support for IP policies and innovation frameworks. The complex relationship between IP protection and economic development requires public recognition that the IP system is a tool within innovation and creative policies that can be shaped to provide both positive contributions such as fostering innovation, creating employment and driving economic growth—as well as presenting challenges, including concerns about access, market concentration and economic barriers.
Consumer perceptions of these economic trade-offs vary significantly across regions and reflect diverse economic contexts, development levels and cultural attitudes toward innovation and market regulation. Understanding how different populations perceive the economic impact of IP rights can provide insights for policymakers seeking to communicate the value of the IP system and IP rights protection while addressing legitimate concerns about their economic implications.
The following analysis examines both sides of this perception spectrum, revealing how consumers across different regions evaluate the economic benefits IP rights bring to their national economies alongside their recognition of potential economic challenges, offering a nuanced view of public sentiment toward IP’s role in economic development.
The findings indicate that, while the majority of consumers across the globe agree that IP rights are beneficial to their economies, they also pose certain challenges.
IP rights’ impact on economy – benefits
The survey assessed consumer agreement with statements concerning potential economic benefits of IP rights on national economies using a 1-to-5 scale (Figure 12). The findings reveal significant regional variations in how consumers perceive the economic value of IP protection. Consumers in Asia-Pacific states show the highest level of belief in the economic benefits of IP rights among the five regions. Figure 11 illustrates the percentage of respondents who agreed with statements about the economic advantages of IP rights. While overall belief remains strong, some countries such as Japan, Singapore and the Republic of Korea expressed less agreement to these statements. Notably, belief in the positive economic impact of IP rights has increased among Japanese consumers in 2025 compared to 2023. Within this region, only Viet Nam shows a slight negative trend, though it still maintains very high overall levels of support.
In African states, belief in the benefits of IP rights remains stable, with the majority of countries expressing strong agreement. Only Cameroon and Senegal demonstrate somewhat lower levels of support, whereas Ghana, Angola and Mozambique have shown increased agreement over time.
The Latin American and Caribbean states display consistently high and stable beliefs in IPR benefits to the economies across most countries.
In Western European and other states, agreement about the positive impact of IP rights on national economies has declined. This is primarily driven by consumers in the United States, with German consumers also expressing more cautious opinions.
Differences in the agreement to the various statements regarding the positive impact of IP rights on the economy are relatively marginal at the level of global regions. That said, there are notable variations at the country level within the regions (Figure 12).
In Western European and other states, agreement with the perceived economic benefits has decreased significantly across all measured statements in the survey. This decline is largely driven by shifting consumer opinions in the United States concerning the benefits of IP rights for the national economy.
Opinions in Latin American and Caribbean states remained generally stable, with the exception of Peru and Mexico showing a fall in agreement with the statement that “IPRs foster sustainability.”
Among the five regions, consumers in Eastern European states agree the least about the economic benefits of IP rights, showing slight declines in agreement across nearly all statements. These reductions are primarily observed in Romania and Bulgaria, although the downward trend is consistent across most countries within this region.
In the Asia-Pacific states, agreement has decreased for three of the surveyed statements. At the country level, perspectives vary: for example, consumers in Bangladesh have significantly increased their agreement that ‘IPRs foster sustainability’, while agreement has declined in India and Viet Nam.
Consumer attitudes in African states have remained mostly stable, with only marginal changes. Notably, Ghana and Mozambique have shown increased agreement with the statement that “IPRs help to create employment opportunities and/or better-paid jobs in my community/country.”
IP rights’ impact on economy – challenges
The potential challenges associated with IP rights may pose implications for national economies, largely due to their complex nature and the delicate balance they aim to maintain – encouraging innovation while ensuring public access. The survey’s second question block examined statements describing potential challenges posed by IP rights on national economies, evaluated using the same 1-to-5 scale (Figure 14). Overall, the survey findings reveal that while consumers across various regions believe in IP rights’ positive impact, there is also widespread recognition of the challenges they pose to national economies (Figure 13).
In Western European and other states, there has been a decline in the level of agreement regarding the challenges to national economies associated with IP rights since 2023. This shift is mainly influenced by consumers in the United States, who now perceive these challenges as less impactful. Similarly, consumers in Germany have expressed a more balanced view, acknowledging both benefits and challenges of IP rights.
By contrast, consumers in Latin American and Caribbean and Eastern European states have maintained relatively stable opinions concerning the economic challenges linked to IP rights.
The Asia-Pacific group demonstrated the most diverse perspectives on the challenging impact of IP rights. Overall, the level of consumer agreement on the challenges within this region has declined, with consumers from Indonesia, India, China and Viet Nam driving this positive shift. However, despite this trend, consumers in India and Viet Nam continue to express concerns above the regional average.
In African states, concerns about the challenges associated with IP rights has increased compared to the previous survey. This rise is primarily driven by stronger agreement among consumers in Egypt, Mozambique and Angola, who are increasingly aware of the economic challenges related to IP rights.
The findings reveal notable differences across global regions, with significant variations observed at the country level within all five regions.
In Western European and other states, agreement with the perceived challenges associated with IP rights has declined across all surveyed statements. This trend is largely influenced by shifting consumer opinions in the United States, while Germany also showing decreased agreement on most statements.
Consumers in Latin American and Caribbean states maintained relatively stable opinions, with the exception of Brazil showing significantly less agreement regarding the statement that “IPRs matter only to big corporations”. Overall, agreement levels with other statements remained consistent across the countries in this region.
In Eastern European states, no significant changes were observed in consumer views toward the statements.
In the Asia-Pacific states, agreement with the five statements about challenges posed by IP rights has decreased. On a country-specific level, consumers in Indonesia, Viet Nam and India have altered their perspectives. Notably, Chinese consumers demonstrated lower levels of agreement as well.
Consumers in African states generally expressed more cautious perspectives regarding the economic challenges associated with IP rights compared to previous wave, showing stronger agreement with related statements. At the country level, Egypt exhibited notable changes across all five statements. Additionally, consumers in Angola and Mozambique demonstrated higher agreement with most of these statements.
In summary, the survey findings indicate that consumers generally continue to believe in the positive economic benefits of IP rights, with high levels of support remaining stable in many of the surveyed countries. The most significant shifts are observed in Western European and other states, particularly driven by consumers in the United States, who have shown a decline in agreement regarding both the benefits and concerns about the challenges of IP rights. The agreement on the benefits has also decreased in Eastern European and some Asia-Pacific states.
While potential challenges posed by IP rights to national economies are acknowledged globally, consumers in African states have become more concerned about issues touched by the survey. Overall, regional and country-specific differences reveal a complex landscape of perceptions surrounding the economic role of IP rights, with some countries exhibiting increased support and others adopting a more cautious stance.