The report for a body advising the government on copyright looks at consumer attitudes to illegal downloading.
Researchers found 1.3 million people online on just one file-sharing network on a weekday and worked out that over a year, they were getting free access to material worth 120 billion pounds.
The report says seven million people who download illegally in the UK can't all be students, older people must also be involved. But it says there's uncertainty about what is or is not illegal, and the fact that so much on the internet is free only adds to the confusion.
The report warns the government that criminalising downloaders could have huge economic costs and might not even work.
adj. 最初的,原始的,有独创性的,原版的