Portuguese citizens are more willing than anyone else in the EU to admit buying counterfeits
Entre os 27 estados-membros da União Europeia, Portugal destaca-se como o país onde mais cidadãos admitem comprar conscientemente produtos contrafeitos — 13%, mais do dobro da média europeia de 5%. Um estudo abrangente sobre perceção da propriedade intelectual revela que este comportamento não é isolado, mas parte de um padrão mais amplo de relação ambígua com o valor da criação intelectual. E ainda assim, no mesmo retrato, surge um sinal de mudança: a proporção de portugueses que pagam por conteúdos digitais legais saltou de 14% para 42% em apenas três anos, lembrando que os hábitos de consumo, por mais enraizados que pareçam, não são imutáveis.
- Portugal lidera um ranking pouco lisonjeiro: é o país da UE onde mais pessoas assumem comprar produtos falsos de forma deliberada, com uma taxa de 13% que contrasta com os 2% da Suécia e da Itália.
- A tendência agrava-se — desde 2017, Portugal registou um aumento de três pontos percentuais, tornando-se o segundo mercado de crescimento mais rápido em compras intencionais de contrafação na União.
- O estudo traça um perfil do comprador típico de produtos contrafeitos: jovem, estudante, a viver com os pais e com acesso fácil a conteúdos pirateados, sugerindo que o problema tem raízes geracionais e estruturais.
- A correlação entre fraca compreensão do conceito de propriedade intelectual e maior tolerância à contrafação aponta para um défice de literacia que vai além do simples comportamento de consumo.
- Contra a corrente negativa, emerge um dado promissor: 42% dos portugueses pagam hoje por conteúdos digitais legais, uma viragem expressiva face aos 14% registados em 2017, abrindo a possibilidade de uma mudança cultural mais profunda.
Um estudo europeu sobre perceção da propriedade intelectual, que inquiriu mais de 25.000 residentes nos 27 estados-membros, colocou Portugal numa posição incómoda: é o país da União onde a percentagem de cidadãos que admitem comprar produtos contrafeitos intencionalmente é mais elevada. Treze por cento dos inquiridos portugueses assumiram esse comportamento no último ano — mais do dobro da média europeia de 5%. A Eslovénia ficou em segundo lugar com 12%, enquanto a Suécia e a Itália registaram os valores mais baixos, com apenas 2% cada.
O que torna o caso português ainda mais preocupante é a direção da evolução. Desde 2017, a taxa cresceu três pontos percentuais, fazendo de Portugal o segundo país com crescimento mais rápido neste indicador — apenas atrás dos Países Baixos. Em sentido contrário, vinte dos vinte e sete países da UE viram este comportamento diminuir no mesmo período.
Os investigadores identificaram também uma correlação entre a fraca compreensão do conceito de propriedade intelectual e a maior propensão para comprar produtos falsos ou aceder a conteúdos pirateados. Portugal situou-se perto da média europeia neste indicador, com 78% dos inquiridos a afirmar compreender bem o conceito. Quanto à pirataria digital, 9% dos portugueses admitiram aceder a fontes ilegais online — ligeiramente acima da média da UE de 8% — e, ao contrário da tendência europeia de descida, Portugal registou aqui também um aumento.
No entanto, os dados guardam uma nota de otimismo. A proporção de portugueses que pagam por conteúdos digitais legais passou de 14% em 2017 para 42% em 2020 — um salto de 28 pontos percentuais em apenas três anos. Esta mudança acompanha a tendência europeia, mas é particularmente expressiva em Portugal, e levanta a questão de saber se esta viragem no consumo legal acabará por arrastar para baixo as taxas de contrafação que hoje distinguem o país no contexto europeu.
A European study released this week found that Portuguese citizens are more willing than anyone else in the European Union to admit they intentionally buy counterfeit goods. The finding comes from the third edition of the European Intellectual Property Perception Study, conducted by the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights, and it paints a portrait of consumer behavior that stands apart from the rest of the bloc.
The research surveyed 25,636 residents across all 27 EU member states, each at least 15 years old. Across the union, the average rate of intentional counterfeit purchases in the past year sits at 5 percent. Portugal, however, recorded 13 percent—more than double the EU baseline. Of the 1,000 Portuguese respondents, 130 acknowledged buying fake goods deliberately within the previous twelve months. Slovenia came in second at 12 percent, while Sweden and Italy recorded the lowest rates at just 2 percent each.
What makes Portugal's position more striking is the direction of movement. The country has seen a three-percentage-point increase since 2017, making it the second-fastest-growing market for intentional counterfeit purchases in the union. Only the Netherlands has climbed faster, with a four-point jump. In contrast, twenty of the twenty-seven EU nations saw this behavior decline over the same three-year span. The overall European trend has been volatile: the rate stood at 4 percent in 2013, rose to 7 percent by 2017, and settled at 5 percent in 2020.
The study identified a profile of the typical counterfeit buyer: young, often still a student, living with parents, and with ready access to pirated content online. The researchers also examined how well Europeans understand the concept of intellectual property itself, discovering a correlation between weak comprehension and willingness to purchase fakes or access pirated material. When asked about their grasp of what "intellectual property" means, eight in ten Europeans across the union reported having a very good or fairly good understanding. Portugal landed near the EU average at 78 percent—below Poland's 91 percent but well above Malta's 32 percent. Austria, Greece, Bulgaria, and Germany all scored between 86 and 88 percent, while Scandinavia lagged, with Sweden, Denmark, and Finland ranging from 41 to 53 percent.
On the question of pirated content specifically, Portuguese respondents showed attitudes slightly more permissive than the European norm. Thirty-one percent of Portuguese said they found piracy acceptable when no legal alternative was readily available or when used only for personal consumption, compared to 28 and 27 percent across the EU respectively. When asked about actually accessing illegal online sources, 9 percent of Portuguese admitted to doing so—nearly matching the EU average of 8 percent. Yet here too, Portugal's trajectory diverges: while the EU saw this behavior drop from 10 percent in 2017 to 8 percent in 2020, Portugal moved in the opposite direction, climbing from 7 to 9 percent.
There is, however, a brighter thread running through the data. The study found that 42 percent of Portuguese now pay for legal online content, a figure that aligns with the EU average but represents a dramatic shift in Portuguese behavior. Seven years ago, only 14 percent of Portuguese respondents reported paying for digital content legally. By 2017, that had grown to 14 percent. The jump to 42 percent in 2020—a twenty-eight-percentage-point increase in just three years—suggests a fundamental change in how Portuguese consumers view digital purchases. Across the union, the same pattern holds: paid access to legal online content has grown from 18 percent in 2013 to 25 percent in 2017 to 42 percent today. The question now is whether this shift toward legal consumption will eventually pull down the counterfeit purchase rates that currently set Portugal apart.
Notable Quotes
The typical counterfeit buyer is young, often still a student, living with parents, with ready access to pirated content online— European Intellectual Property Perception Study
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would Portugal specifically stand out this way? Is there something about the Portuguese market that makes counterfeits more appealing?
The study doesn't pinpoint cause, but the profile is telling—younger people, students, living at home. That's a demographic with less disposable income but access to the internet. Counterfeits are cheaper. The online piracy connection suggests availability matters too.
So it's partly about economics and partly about what's easy to find?
Yes, but there's also the intellectual property comprehension angle. When people don't fully understand what they're protecting by buying legitimate goods, the moral weight of the choice diminishes. It becomes transactional rather than ethical.
That's interesting—so education could matter here. But the study shows Portugal's understanding of IP is actually close to the EU average.
True, which makes the behavior gap even more puzzling. It's not that Portuguese don't understand IP. It's that understanding doesn't seem to translate into purchasing decisions the way it does elsewhere.
What about that surge in legal paid content? That's the hopeful part of the story.
Absolutely. In three years, Portugal went from 14 percent to 42 percent paying for legal digital content. That's not gradual change—that's a shift. It suggests the market is responding to something: better services, lower prices, cultural change, or all three.
Do you think that trend will eventually bring down the counterfeit numbers?
It should, logically. If people have legal options that are affordable and convenient, the incentive to buy fakes shrinks. But the data shows counterfeits are still rising even as legal purchases climb. Both behaviors are growing simultaneously, which suggests they're reaching different audiences or serving different needs.