A third of Europeans find it acceptable to buy fakes when the price of the genuine product is too high, new research shows.
That proportion rises to half when it comes to young people aged 15-24.
The study, carried out by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), reveals that Europeans are increasingly aware of the risks and consequences of buying counterfeits and accessing content from illegal source.
80% of those surveyed said they believe that criminal organisations are behind counterfeit products and consider that buying counterfeits ruins businesses and jobs.
Meanwhile, 83% of respondents also believe that it supports unethical behaviour and two thirds see it as a threat to health and safety and to the environment.
On a country level, the proportion of consumers that have intentionally purchased fakes varies from 24% in Bulgaria to 8% in Finland.
Apart from Bulgaria, buying fakes intentionally is above the EU average in Spain at 20%, Ireland at 19%, Luxembourg at 19%, and Romania at 18%.
Uncertainty regarding authenticity is also on the rise.
Nearly 40% of Europeans surveyed have wondered whether they have bought a counterfeit, while half of young people stated the same.
Europeans also show uncertainty about the legality of the sources they use for online content, with 41% wondering whether a source accessed was legal or not.
In terms of piracy, Europeans are generally opposed to the use of pirated content.
80% of those surveyed prefer to use legal sources to access online content if an affordable option is available.
Almost nine in 10 people are aware of at least one type of legal content offer in their country and 43% have paid to access, download or stream copyright-protected content from a legal service in the past year.
However, 65% consider it acceptable to pirate when content is not available on their subscription.
The data shows that 14% of Europeans admitted to having intentionally accessed content via illegal sources in the last 12 months.
That percentage rises to 33% for young people aged 15 to 24.
Here in Ireland, 20% of respondents admitted to having accessed content illegally, especially to watch sports.
"The latest edition of the IP Perception study provides new relevant insights into the perception of infringement of intellectual property rights and underlines once more the need to support consumers protection," said Christian Archambeau, Executive Director of the EUIPO.
"It also confirms positive developments regarding the awareness and availability of digital content from legal sources," he added.
