Effects of ICT Device Ownership on Consumers’ Digital Piracy Behavior

Abstract

This study investigates how information and communication technology (ICT) can damage intellectual property rights (IPR) in the movie industry. Utilizing a survey questionnaire to gather information about the extensive use of ICT devices, including tablet PCs and smartphones, we demonstrate how digital piracy behavior is associated with various socio-demographic characteristics. Econometrically, since a large number of people do not engage in piracy activities, we adopt a zero-inflated negative binomial model. We find that people with tablet PCs are more likely to engage in the piracy of movies from peer-to-peer (P2P) sites. In particular, when we categorize ICT devices based on whether they are portable and allow downloads, we find that people with devices equipped with both functions are most likely to engage in movie piracy.