The study focused on how digital advertising supports suspected intellectual property infringing websites and reported that OHIM discovered more than 180,000 advertisements on 280 websites over two months of research.

OHIM found that 131 sectors advertised on a total of 1,400 pages of the 280 infringing sites which allow web users to download or stream infringing media content for free.

Fully 54% of ads collected were considered high-risk as they linked to malware or adult content.

The study found that 10 out of the 232 high-risk advertisers posted 91 percent of the ads linking to harmful content.

Up to 86% of infringing websites allow web users to download or stream infringing media content for free with the websites earning money via online advertising.

These websites generate up to 5.3 million euros in advertising revenue annually.

HENT Vice-President Miklós Bendzsel said advertisers who own the 5,000 ads displayed on Hungarian websites should consider OHIM’s study a “serious warning”, arguing that with rising marketing costs, the automated display of ads can lead to heavy losses for advertisers when they are displayed on copyright infringing sites.

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