Half of Bulgarians Engage in Private Copying, Leading to $15.8M in Losses for Copyright Holders: Study
Jerusalem, 13 May, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- Sofia (BTA) – Half of Bulgarians (51 percent) over the age of 12 copy copyrighted audiovisual works for personal use, according to a first-of-its-kind study by Alpha Research , commissioned by Musicaauthor and supported by the International Confederation of Authors and Composers (CISAC) . The study was presented at the conference “ 33 Years Later – The Big Conversation on Private Copying in Bulgaria.”
The financial losses for copyright holders related to this practice are estimated at approximately 27.9 million leva ($15.8 million) over the past year, according to the study conducted in March 2025 in the period February-April.
Music turns out to be the most frequently copied format, followed by videos, photos and images, text materials such as books, articles and films. This trend is observed among different age groups. Young people up to 29 years old are more active in copying music and videos. The age group 30–65 years old prefers copying books, articles and photos. The development of technology is changing consumer habits and the most popular means used for private copying are smartphones, followed by computers and laptops, USB sticks and cloud services. Copying is a regular practice, with photos, music and films being copied most often.
The study was conducted in two parts. The first part surveyed 1,093 people over the age of 12 across the country about their habits in the area of copying content for personal use. The second part examined the habits of 1,170 users over the age of 12 who had copied content in the past year.
The Foreign Example
The survey data also indicated another trend: attitudes related to recording audiovisual content for personal use in Bulgaria do not differ significantly from the data for Europe. The difference is that in all European countries, there is a developed and working mechanism for compensating authors for these practices that do not affect the end user.
Revenues from private copying levies in France, for example, are used to invest in cultural events and to compensate creators. Specifically, Copie France pays out approximately 75% of the funds collected for private copying, which go directly to authors, artists and producers of music, films, series, books and works of art that are widely and freely distributed. The remaining 25% of the money is used to support thousands of cultural events throughout France, but also new works, concerts, films, festivals, theaters, book fairs, etc. The study clearly shows the need to introduce an effective mechanism for private copying in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria remains the only country in the European Union that has not fully implemented the private copying mechanism. The lack of a compensatory mechanism for copying content harms both Bulgarian and foreign creators, hindering the sustainable development of culture in our country. The study clearly shows the need to introduce an effective private copying mechanism in Bulgaria, comments “Muzikautor”.
