Men are Bigger Pirates, Study Finds

Nearly half of Brits never pay to download music, video or games, says Telindus.

Telindus also said that 60 percent of web users don't believe that musicians should profit from their singles and music videos being downloaded online.

Those in the 16- to 24-year-old age group proved to be the most knowledgeable when it comes to online piracy, with 57 percent revealing they know which websites to visit to illegally download content, compared to a third of 25- to 34-year-olds.

Telindus revealed Brits were confused about copyright, with 25 percent of those surveyed believing that they still owned the rights to the content they post on sites such as Facebook, YouTube and MySpace.

One in five web users believe that once content is posted online, no one has ownership rights to it as it's in the public domain, while 37 percent admitted they had no idea who owned the copyright to online content.

Mark Hutchinson, managing director of Telindus, said: "We live in a digital age where people have grown accustomed to receiving something for nothing and, as a result, online piracy has exploded".

"Content providers and ISPs need to work together to develop a structure that ensures that the creators don't miss out on revenues due to piracy and ISPs get rewarded for providing the extra bandwidth and experience required. Most importantly, the right holders and ISPs need to deliver an end user experience that consumers will be demanding and, ultimately, willing to pay for."

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See also: Illegal file-sharing between teens falls