6/4/2008 9:19:07 AM LOOKING FOR LEADERSHIP: CANADIAN ATTITUDES TOWARD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Canadians like to think of themselves as good citizens. At the global level, Canadians tend to express strong support for cooperation and multilateralism, wishing to be seen as upstanding participants in the international community. At the local level, Canadians like to imagine themselves as polite, considerate, and just plain “nice.” And yet, over the past several years Canada has fallen behind the international community when it comes to the protection of intellectual property and products of the mind. The gap between Canadian laws and international standards in the area of counterfeiting, piracy, and illegal downloading is growing ever wider. Canada has been maintained by the U.S. Trade Representative on a special watch list specifically because of its laxity in the realm of protecting intellectual property. How has a country that prides itself on sound citizenship fallen so far behind international standards in the protection of creative property and products of the mind? It is not for lack of public support for such protections. Research shows that Canadians overall have a strong respect for intellectual property, seeing creative work as every bit as valuable and worthy of protection as material goods. They also see value in fostering respect for intellectual property among Canadian youth, not only so that young people will learn to behave ethically toward others' creative output but also so that they themselves will learn to create and innovate -- avoiding plagiarism and cut-and-paste shortcuts. Canadians recognize that in the global information economy the ability to contribute products of the mind to the world economy will define Canada's success or failure. They recognize that piracy-based economies are parasitical in nature. And they are looking to government to show leadership in regulating the circulation of the artistic, technological, cultural, and intellectual work in an age of digital change. Although research shows that a strong foundation of respect for intellectual property already exists among Canadians, this respect may be eroded over time if present conditions persist. Currently, Canadians operate in a virtual vacuum of regulation or even social standards when it comes to the use and abuse of intellectual property. As a result, significant proportions of the Canadian public report having acquired creative goods illegally, and this number is even higher among youth. But not all Canadians who use creative goods improperly are willful rule-breakers. When it comes to intellectual property in Canada — and indeed when it comes to ethical issues in general — values research reveals three groups, each with distinct mental postures when it comes to intellectual property and ethics in general. THE CANADIAN VALUES LANDSCAPE: THREE GROUPS Working with a battery of attitudinal data, Environics identified three groups with distinct attitudes towards intellectual property and downloading. Collectively, they represent about half of the Canadian population. Other segments with more varied views exist, but these three represent the main perspectives driving attitudes towards illegal downloading and the protection of intellectual property in Canada The Moralists – 16% of Canadians Moralists consist of Canadians who have never downloaded from peer-to-peer sites, and say they wouldn’t, even if they knew they could get away with it. They consider illegal downloading to be a serious crime, and believe that ISPs should block users who download illegally. They agree that music, videos, computer software and books are all forms of intellectual property that deserve the same degree of protection from copyright theft as physical goods do from physical theft. As their name suggests, the Moralists have a strong sense of moral conviction. For some, this may be rooted in religious belief and strict ideas about right and wrong, good and evil. For others, morality may be less traditional in its roots but equally powerful. Many Canadians who describe themselves as having no religion nevertheless express a strong moral sense rooted in ideas of empathy, fairness, and harmony with others. The Moralists are very unlikely to abuse intellectual property for any reason—no matter what the official rules are. Possessing an intuitive sense that acquiring other people’s work without compensating those people is wrong, the Moralists report that they would avoid all piracy, illegal downloading, and plagiarism—even if they were sure they would never be caught or punished. Looking at the values profiles of the Moralist segment, we find a deep sense of social engagement and connectedness. Strong on values such as Community Involvement, Belonging to the Global Village, and Meaning of Life Through Family, these Canadians feel meaningfully connected to other people—their own family members, their local communities, and even the human family around the globe. Also scoring high on the value Fulfillment Through Work, these Canadians understand the value of creative and intellectual output and have an intuitive respect for other people’s work. Taken together, these values expose the moral underpinnings of the Moralists’ aversion to piracy and illegal downloading. An innate respect for other people and for the value of work keeps the Moralists honest. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Moralists tend to be older than the population at large; they are overrepresented in all age cohorts over the age of 45, and are more likely than average to be retired. They tend to fall in the middle of the income scale, and are about average in terms of education (although they are slightly overrepresented among those with postgraduate degrees). These Canadians are disproportionately married. Among the Moralists, there are more women than men. The Unrepentant Downloaders – 5% of Canadians A certain proportion of those who abuse intellectual property feel no compunction about doing so. These are people whose values reveal little interest in any moral framework. Unrepentant Downloaders are defined as those who have downloaded music or video files from peer-to-peer sites, and do not consider it a serious crime. They say they would download music or software files readily if they knew they wouldn’t get caught. Not only do these Canadians not adhere to traditional modes of moralism—strict ideas about right and wrong usually underpinned by religious conviction—they have also rejected more postmodern ideas about good conduct, rooted in ideas of empathy, fairness, and respect. These people are aggressively looking out for number one, and will only desist in bad behaviour if forced. While the Moralists will do the right thing even if there are no rules or punishments to push them in that direction, the Unrepentant Downloaders will do what they want regardless of the rules. For these Canadians, the question is not whether rules exist or whether those rules are legitimate, the question is whether breaking the rules is likely to result in punishment—and, if so, how severe it will be. These young Canadians are intently focused on the pursuit of new and exciting experiences. They are very strong on the value Pursuit of Originality; it is in part this quest for novelty which drives them to their avid consumption of creative goods. Piracy and illegal downloading give them access to an ever expanding selection of entertainment. Indeed, if they can acquire a movie or album before its release, not only do they get to enjoy the experience, they can also brag to friends about their insider status. Having “free” access to creative goods also allows the Unrepentant Downloaders to test diverse entertainment and software without having to make any choices or trade-offs. These Canadians are very weak on values such as Discriminating Consumerism and Utilitarian Consumerism. They prefer not to spend time evaluating their own needs and wishes to figure out thoughtful, efficient ways of fulfilling these. They would rather graze and sample as their mood suggests; not spending money means not having to make decisions or set priorities (this album and not that one, this movie and not that video game). Even if they see piracy and illegal downloading as wrong—and most Unrepentant Downloaders tend to see piracy as a “not very serious” crime—these Canadians will nevertheless tend to put their own pleasure first: they score well above average on the value Pursuit of Happiness to the Detriment of Duty. Self-denial in the service of a larger principle is not these Canadians’ strong suit. With their above-average scores on Anomie, the Unrepentant Downloaders feel disconnected from society and are likely to pay little heed to how their behaviour fits (or clashes) with the norms or codes by which others live. This segment also scores low on Everyday Ethics, reporting that if they find a wallet on the street or are undercharged in a restaurant, they will keep quiet and happily reap the rewards of others’ mistakes. These Canadians are considerably younger than average—the vast majority are under 30, and about half are under 24. Nearly six in ten (58%) are male. They are generally students, and they tend to be single, living either alone or in non-family arrangements. They are underrepresented in small communities, being more likely to congregate in cities and also presumably in mid-sized university towns. They are more likely than the general population to have completed some or all of a university degree, but despite relatively high levels of education express relatively low levels of political engagement. The Impressionables – 25% of Canadians The largest group in Canadian society when it comes to values related to ethnical behaviour are the Impressionables. They are defined by their attitudes that intellectual property is essential to Canada’s economic prosperity, and that music, books, and software are all forms of intellectual property that deserve as much protection as physical goods. They feel that strong patent, copyright and trademark laws are required to protect those who create intellectual property for a period of time so that they can sell or commercialize their ideas before competitors are allowed to copy their creations. However, the Impressionables feel that downloading illegal music and video files is not a serious crime, and they volunteer that they would be willing to download music or software without paying if they knew they could get away with it. These people are neither brazen rule-breakers (though they do sometimes break rules) nor moralists guided by a powerful internal conscience (though they do have some moral sense). The Impressionables rely on cues from others—from peers, from government, from employers, from parents—to know what behaviour is acceptable and what is not. Left to their own devices, they will not cleave to their own codes of ethical conduct against all opposition as the Moralists do. But if they find themselves in an environment where right and wrong are clearly demarcated, they are unlikely to aggressively flout the rules as the Unrepentant Downloaders do. When it comes to laws that encourage respect for and protection of creative goods, it is the Impressionables who are most likely to be influenced by the moral tone set by society’s leaders. Twenty years ago, these Canadians might have ignored their seat belts or exposed their children to secondary smoke from cigarettes. But they would never dream of doing so today because social standards have changed: laws have toughened and peer pressure against these behaviours has increased. Values profiles of the Impressionables indicate that these Canadians are motivated to a great extent by a quest for novelty. Younger than the national average, these Canadians score high on values like Pursuit of Originality and Interest in the Mysterious: they want to explore the new and the unusual, and impress friends with what they have found. The Impressionables share a thirst for novelty with the Unrepentant Downloaders, but the former are less extreme in this desire. Whereas the Unrepentant Downloaders score high on a host of values associated with consumption and acquisition, the Impressionables are moderate on most consumption trends. They want to be entertained—they score high on Need for Escape—but their lives do not revolve around pop culture novelties. Moreover, the Impressionables’ interest in impressing others cuts both ways. Today, the Impressionables may brag to friends about owning a pirated copy of a movie that has barely hit the theatres or having downloaded and burned several copies of a hot new album. In a social environment where intellectual property theft is frowned upon, however, the Impressionables’ desire to behave appropriately in the eyes of others will likely lead them to reject the abuse of intellectual property. Notably, one of this group’s strongest values is Flexibility of Personality; the Impressionables are social creatures whose behaviour is strongly influenced by their social context. Like the Unrepentant Downloaders, the Impressionables skew fairly young, but while the Downloaders skew male, the Impressionables are evenly split according to gender. These Canadians are disproportionately students, and most are single. They are concentrated in the western provinces. Only leadership will begin to shape a society in which the Impressionables—an enormous segment of the population and a group that awaits cues from others about how to think and act—sense that the abuse of intellectual property is no longer “mainstream.” At present, the legal vacuum around intellectual property in Canada amounts to a shrug from Canadian leaders. If legislation were to signal—even symbolically—that the abuse of intellectual property is something Canada’s leaders take seriously, the Impressionables would very likely begin to take the hint. CANADIAN ATTITUDES: SUPPORT FOR A FRAMEWORK OF RULES AND RESPECT 1. Intellectual Property (Yes, Property) The vast majority of Canadians believe that intellectual property is just that: private property that deserves the same respect and protection as other, more tangible goods. When asked to agree or disagree that "Music, videos, computer software and books are all forms of intellectual property which deserve the same degree of protection from copyright theft as physical goods do from physical theft," more than eight in ten Canadians (83%) agree. Believing that intellectual property should be protected with the same vigilance as physical property, Canadians also overwhelmingly agree that "Strong patent, copyright and trademark laws are required to protect those who create intellectual property for a period of time so that they can sell of commercialize their ideas before competitors are allowed to copy their creations." Fully nine in ten Canadians (90%) support the idea that products of the mind should be protected by such laws. In addition to creating--and enforcing--laws that protect intellectual property, a substantial majority of Canadians believe that government needs to play an active role in instilling a sense of respect for intellectual property among citizens, particularly online. Eight in ten Canadians (82%) agree that "Government has a responsibility to educate Canadians about the need to respect copyright laws on the Internet." Taken together, these findings suggest that Canadians believe in the value of intellectual property, see the importance of maintaining incentives for the creation of creative goods, and believe government should be leading the way in demonstrating respect for software, films, music, ideas, and other valuable products of the mind. Other findings in this study suggest that Canadians see the benefits of respect for intellectual property extending in three important directions: social, economic, and political. 2. Where Credit Is Due: Fostering Respect for Products of the Mind Canadians believe that parents, peers, and teachers have the strongest influence over young people's moral development. Still, a notable majority (67%) believe that governments, through the laws they create and enforce, also have an impact on the values and ethics young people adopt. Among the values Canadians believe should be fostered among young people is respect for creative work. Canadians see considerable harm in allowing youth to grow up indifferent to the labour and ingenuity involved in creating intellectual work. This feeling is evident in the almost universal condemnation of plagiarism among students. Nine in ten Canadians (90%) believe that students who cheat on tests and exams will later perform poorly in the workforce because they do not know how to produce work on their own. A similar proportion (93%) believe that it is the effort students go through to understand and create ideas that is the real value of education--not the mere copying or repetition of others' writing. The overwhelming majority of Canadians (90%) disagree that there is nothing wrong with students passing off writing they find on the Internet as their own. When it comes to young people's online activities, Canadians overwhelmingly believe that parents should actively promote responsible behaviour. The Youth tend to agree in principle that it is through hard work and wrestling with ideas that true learning comes; Canadians aged 15 to 24 are about as likely as the population at large to believe that education comes from understanding and producing—not just copying—ideas. But despite this belief about how education operates in general, youth are considerably more permissive than Canadians overall when it comes to brass tacks: plagiarism and cheating. Those aged 15 to 24 are twice as likely (19%) as Canadians overall (10%) to say there is nothing wrong with students copying what they read on the internet and passing it off as their own work. Youth are also nearly twice as likely (26% as compared to 14%) to believe that, “In today’s competitive environment, it is sometimes justifiable for students to cheat on tests or exams if it helps them get ahead.” In other words, youth attitudes suggest that Canada may be on a trajectory toward diminishing respect for intellectual property—and increasing permissiveness about the unauthorized use of products of the mind. Most Canadians believe that it is parents’ job to stem this tide. When it comes to young people's online activities, Canadians overwhelmingly believe that it is the duty of parents to actively promote responsible behaviour. The beliefs that "Parents should teach their children how to use the Internet in a responsible fashion" (93%) and that "Parents should be responsible for monitoring the use of the Internet by their children" (91%) are nearly universal. Nearly two-thirds of Canadians (64%) believe that parents' moral responsibility for their children's online behaviour is so strong that parents should be held accountable if their kids engage in illegal downloading. Tellingly, the rate of agreement with this statement falls to 54 percent among parents with children between the ages of 6 and 17, presumably because they know how difficult it is to keep tabs on their children’s online activities and do not wish to be held to account for behaviour they cannot always observe, let alone control. Youth, too, are more skeptical than the population at large about the idea that parents should police their children’s online activities. Among Canadians aged 15 to 24, proportions believing that parents should be responsible for monitoring their children’s online activities (76%) or should be held accountable for their children’s unauthorized downloading (46%) are considerably lower than the national averages. Youth may espouse these positions in part because they object to the idea of parental meddling in their online lives, but may also be aware (as parents seem to be) that young people have more independence online than off—and that to hold parents accountable for their children’s Internet behaviour is to make parents responsible for actions they cannot hope to control. The point on which parents, young people, and the population at large seem to agree most is that parents should teach their children the standards for responsible online behaviour; that lesson imparted, parents may just have to hope for the best. Clearly parents are, in online life as in much else, seen as the most important agents of young people's development and arbiters of their behaviour. Still, taken in combination these results indicate that Canadians feel government has a role to play not only in making and enforcing sound rules for all of society but in setting an ethical standard for young people. Since Canadians believe that government has an impact on the ethical development of youth, and also that youth are ill-served by a Wild West approach to intellectual property (evidenced by the widespread concern about plagiarism) it stands to reason that Canadians will look to government to take seriously the matter of intellectual property and to support parents in their efforts to instill in their children a sense of respect for ideas, innovation, creativity, and hard work. 3. The Creative Society: Thriving In a Global Information Economy There are important reasons underlying Canadians' concern about the implications of plagiarism for young people's intellectual and creative development. Canadians perceive that intellectual property is increasingly crucial to economic success. Therefore, when plagiarism enables people to avoid the work that will hone intellectual capacity--creativity, ingenuity, and discipline--the result is a grossly diminished likelihood of their economic success. The importance of fostering creativity and ingenuity apply every bit as much to Canada as a whole as to individual young people. Over nine in ten Canadians (93%) agree that "The creation of intellectual property is essential for Canada's long-term economic growth and prosperity." Canadians recognize that in order to contribute to--and thrive in--a global information economy, people need not only the intellectual capacity but also the material incentives to produce vital ideas, innovative tools, and compelling cultural products. Eight in ten Canadians (82%) agree that "Those who create intellectual property would have little incentive to do so if competitors could immediately copy and sell the creations as their own." If Canada is to remain competitive in a global economy increasingly driven by ideas, Canadians recognize that the production of those ideas must be treated with the same seriousness as raw materials and manufactured goods. Seriousness here implies leadership from government in the creation and enforcement of intellectual property laws which will incent Canadians to contribute creative goods to the marketplace. 4. Across Party Lines: Broad Public Consensus on Value of Intellectual Property When it comes to the value of intellectual property, the need for a legal framework that protects creative goods, and the importance of intellectual property to Canada’s economic future, there is remarkably little variation in opinion according to Canadians’ political affiliations. Across all parties, agreement that “The creation of intellectual property is essential to Canada’s long-term economic growth and prosperity” is about nine in ten—and partisan variations are so minor as to be statistically insignificant. Agreement is similarly high and consistent across parties when it comes to the legal protection of intellectual property. Rates of agreement range only six points from 87 percent (among Liberals and Greens) to 93 percent (among Conservatives) with the idea that “Strong patent, copyright, and trademark laws are required to protect those who create intellectual property for a period of time so that they can sell or commercialize their ideas before competitors are allowed to copy their creations.” The same near-consensus emerges when Canadians are asked about the incentives for innovation and creativity. Agreement with the idea that “Those who create intellectual property would have little incentive to do so if competitors could immediately copy and sell the creations as their own,” ranges little across parties, with no partisan group straying from the national average of 82 percent by more than five points. Regardless of their political affiliations, Canadians overwhelmingly believe in the importance of intellectual property to Canada’s continued success in a global information economy. Canadians also believe that a sound legal framework is necessary to ensure that those who create products of the mind continue to have incentives to innovate. CONCLUSION: READY FOR RULES When asked about the seriousness of various crimes, Canadians are unlikely to see intellectual property theft as serious in the way shoplifting and embezzlement are serious. Still, in their responses to other questions Canadians express a sense that respect for intellectual property is serious business, with serious implications for Canada’s future in the global economy. In other words, Canadians are looking to government for leadership on this issue; they are ready to play by the rules, but see no evidence of what those rules might be. Of the three segments revealed by Environics’ social values research, it is the largest group—The Impressionables—that is most likely to have its behaviour heavily informed by rules and especially social mores around intellectual property. Canadians want their country's creative producers to remain active and competitive. They also want to live in a society that prepares its young people to compete and prosper in an economy increasingly shaped by intellectual, not just material, contributions. Canadians are ready to take intellectual property seriously. Indeed, they already do take such property seriously in the abstract. Now they want government to take the lead. Canadians are waiting for a sound legal and economic framework for the circulation of creative goods in a digital world. Because Canadians also believe that the creation of intellectual property is crucial to the country’s long-term prosperity, it stands to reason that Canadians want government to play a leadership role in ensuring that this country’s creative producers continue to do their work – and do it in Canada. Methodology This paper is based on questions included in the annual Environics Social Values Monitor, a national syndicated study that tracks socio-cultural change in Canada. The survey was fielded between July and September of 2006, using an in-home, self completion methodology with a random sample of n=2,724 sample of Canadians aged 15+. Samples of this size produces results that are considered accurate to within +/- 1.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. For more information: Susan Seto, Senior Research Associate t: 416-969-2847 e: susan.seto@environics.ca [ Latest News Articles ]       [ View Past Articles ]