A TelstraClear survey has forwarded that it is hard for Internet law changes alone to stop New Zealanders from illegally downloading copyrighted content.

A survey of 1048 internet users, aged between 18 and 70, has suggested that a major reason for illegal downloading and copying was the time lapse between the release of content, such as music and movies, in the United States then in New Zealand.

Respondents said that the price of buying the content legally also had an impact on illegal downloads.

The survey questioned the New Zealanders about different aspects of downloading, like - what copyright content they copied or downloaded, how often, what regard they had for copyright content, and what would deter them from accessing it illegally.

"Results would help shape TelstraClear's response to a proposal to replace Section 92a of the Copyright Act with a requirement that internet service providers (ISPs) close customer accounts or remove material from the internet if accused of copyright infringement," said a source.

It was specified by nearly half of the households interviewed that they had peer-to-peer file-sharing software on their computer.

It was confessed by the over 80 per cent of respondents that they illegally downloaded or copied music, followed by 49 per cent for software, 35 per cent for movies and 31 per cent for games.

While 32 per cent of respondents said that they copied or downloaded content more than once a month, majority said that they did it only occasionally.

"While 48 per cent said being caught by police and fined would deter them from the activity and 43 per cent said their internet being disconnected for repeat offending would be effective, more than half of respondents said neither measure was significant enough to stop internet copyright infringement," continued the source.

It was suggested by respondents that if illegal downloading is to be stopped, then copyright laws should be changed, apart from providing them with "try before you buy" models, enabling them to access music on a per-track basis at a reasonable prices.