Nationwide Survey Shows Most College Students Believe It's Okay to Download Digital Copyrighted Files at School, in Workplace

Nationwide Survey Shows Most College Students Believe It's Okay to Download Digital Copyrighted Files at School, in Workplace

Educational Efforts Have Spurred Improvements Since 2003 Survey, But Current Attitudes and Behaviors Alarming

WASHINGTON, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Two-thirds of college and university students surveyed see nothing unethical about swapping or downloading digital copyrighted files (software, music and movies) without paying for them and more than half (52 percent) think it is also acceptable behavior in the workplace, according to a new survey released today by the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

The announcement of the survey results comes on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in MGM Studios vs. Grokster, which reaffirms the need for balance between innovation and preventing piracy. BSA is gratified the opinion ensures that persons intentionally and actively engaged in encouraging others to infringe, "inducing infringement," can be held liable under the law for their acts. "The application of this new standard should make a real and positive difference in combating online piracy," said Diane Smiroldo, BSA's vice president for public affairs.

The survey also reveals that 45 percent of students are using the campus networks for downloading activities, with 36 percent of them more likely to report increased downloading. While 45 percent of the students say campus policies are effective, in contrast, nearly three-quarters of academics say the policies are effective, indicating a disconnect between the students and academics.

"Generation Y has largely grown up using the Internet and the majority of this group is extremely comfortable with technology. Unfortunately, this survey shows students who engage in these illegal behaviors are likely to continue after college and when they enter the business world," said Smiroldo.

Marquette University is the first school in the country to participate in an initiative called Define the Line, sponsored by BSA.

"Not only is downloading illegal but it represents a big security risk to universities who provide network access for its students, faculty and staff," said Kathy Lang, chief information officer for Marquette University. "The Supreme Court ruling this week allowing companies to sue others who develop software for the purpose of illegal downloading, further indicates the serious implications of illegally downloading digitally copyrighted files whether it is software, music or videos."

Other survey highlights include:

-- 61 percent of students reported never or rarely paying for commercial software programs. -- Downloading music is a gateway to downloading software. Among students who say they would always download music or movies without paying for them, 27 percent said they regularly download software from a peer-to- peer (P2P) network. -- While half of students (52 percent) believe that even in the workplace, it is okay to download and swap files no matter what the value, only 25 percent of academics feel this way.

The independent survey, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs*, benchmarks the more than 1,000 students' and 200 university faculty and administrators' digital piracy attitudes and behaviors against those first reported in a 2003 BSA/Ipsos survey.

While the results indicate a critical need to address illegal downloading and copyright violations among students, 53 percent of students and 62 percent of academics acknowledge an increase in awareness of media reports about the use of unlicensed software. In fact, 70 percent of students report that media reports about unlicensed software or industry actions against downloaders have made them less likely to download unlicensed or pirated software.

Anti-piracy education makes a difference in closing the knowledge gap over time, Smiroldo said.

Among the survey's good news:

-- In assessing the risk of their behavior, students today are more concerned about legal consequences and the university's policy regarding unlicensed software (27 percent) than the ability to contract computer viruses (23 percent). In 2003, they worried more about viruses (28 percent) than the law and campus policies (23 percent). -- 39 percent of today's students say they paid for commercial software they downloaded, up 7 percentage points from 2003. -- 32 percent of students said it is not okay to swap or download files, compared to 23 percent in 2003. -- Awareness of school downloading policies is becoming more widespread among students with nearly half (44 percent) reporting their campus has a policy, compared to 28 percent in 2003.

College Administration Responses

Among the college and university professors and administrators surveyed, few believe it is acceptable to encourage swapping or downloading illegally, yet no more than one quarter of students report that professors and administrators actively discourage these behaviors. At the same time, 84 percent of professors and administrators believe that the software industry should partner with them to ensure that students obtain their software legally.

In addition:

-- Just 3 percent of academics believe it is okay to continue downloading or swapping after the student graduates. -- Academics' concern with viruses increased from 7 percent in 2003 to 11 percent in 2005. But, academics report violations of the law and university policy as top concerns, though the percentage dropped from 59 percent in 2003 to 50 percent in 2005.

"Clearly, there are far too many students exhibiting unethical and illegal behaviors and attitudes regarding digital piracy," said Smiroldo. "That's why education and awareness are key preventive steps that can and should be taken."

Software Industry Response

The "Define the Line" (http://www.definetheline.com/) program, is one way that the commercial software industry is working with higher education institutions to prevent digital piracy. The program is designed to educate and encourage students to be good cyber citizens and respect copyrighted works online.

For a copy of the 2003 and 2005 Student and Academic Surveys and topline reports as well as digital copyright education resources, visit http://www.definetheline.com/.

* Survey Methodology: This survey reports on Internet-based online interviews with 1,062 university and college students and telephone interviews with 200 college and university faculty and administrators. It was conducted among a national cross-section of U.S. public and private higher education institutions. The margin of error for this study is +/-3.0 percent for the student population and +/-6.9 percent for the educator population.

About the Business Software Alliance

The Business Software Alliance (http://www.bsa.org/) is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA members include Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Avid, Bentley Systems, Borland, CNC Software/Mastercam, Internet Security Systems, Macromedia, McAfee, Microsoft, PTC, SolidWorks, Sybase, Symantec, The MathWorks, UGS and VERITAS Software.

Source: Business Software Alliance

CONTACT: Suzanne Jackson, Four Leaf Public Relations LLC, +1-434-972-7278, sj@fourleafpr.com, for Business Software Alliance; Debbi Mayster, Business Software Alliance, +1-202-530-5132, debbim@bsa.org

Web site: http://www.bsa.org/ http://www.definetheline.com/

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