Enforcement is key to anti-counterfeiting

Of the 53 countries listed by respondents as having the least favorable IP environment, the four worst performers were China, Russia, India and Brazil.

The main factors contributing to a country being regarded as having a least favorable IP environment include its unwillingness to fulfill its international IP obligations, as well as the local media's disregard for the importance of combating piracy and counterfeiting.

Of the 29 countries listed as having the most favorable IP environments, the U.S., the U.K., Germany and France are perceived to be the leaders when it comes to combating IP theft.

Respondents' rankings of the countries with the most favorable IP environments are based on the effective role of the media in raising public awareness of the issue and on strong public cooperation with enforcement agencies in fighting counterfeiting and piracy.

In a comparative analysis among the factors contributing to perceptions of a country as having a "most favorable" as opposed to a "least favorable" IP environment, the amount of resources a government omits to enforcement was a primary determining factor, followed by a clear government policy against piracy.

On the whole, respondents felt that legislation protecting IP is adequate even in countries with poor IP environments. Notes the study, "This reinforces the finding that respondents saw the lack of enforcement, rather than legislation, per se, as the crucial aspect of failure to protect IP in these countries."

The allocation of more resources to enforcement is seen as by far the most effective way of government's utilization of additional resources.

Firms see public education as an increasingly important method for combating counterfeiting and piracy.

Regarding business strategies to rein in the illegal activity, respondents said they spend more than half of their investment on anti-piracy technologies and product differentiation.