Competing Industry Reports Show Economic Contributions Of Copyright, Fair Use

Trade associations from various copyright-intensive industries have released a report showing they account for over $1 trillion in value to the United States economy, and provide some 5 million jobs.

The study supports industry efforts in the US Congress to obtain stronger controls over rights-protected content. The report was released yesterday at a press briefing including several congressional supporters.

The 26-page study, Copyright Industries in the U.S. Economy: The 2011 Report, was prepared for the International Intellectual Property Alliance by Stephen Siwek of Washington, DC-based Economists Incorporated, and builds upon past reports. IIPA is coalition of the major rights holder agencies, including the film, music and software industries.

The report, which uses available data, shows the industry was among the few in the US that continues to grow and pay higher-than-average wages, despite the downswing in the economy and ongoing concerns about severe copyright piracy. It also showed that exports of copyright-related products was $134 billion on 2010, far more than industries such as aircraft, automobiles, agricultural products or pharmaceuticals, though less than chemicals.

Meanwhile, the Computer and Communications Industry Association has published a report [pdf] which it says calls into question the numbers circulated by the copyright industry. The report shows an equally high economic value from industries reliant on knowledge access and an equally important need to protect against copyright over-reaching.

The CCIA report, Fair Use in the U.S. Economy, was prepared by economic consultants at Washington, DC-based Capital Trade.

The study “incorporates data from 2008 and 2009, showing that while GDP declined by 2.6 percent, ‘fair use industries’ fared better than the rest of the economy. These industries make up one-sixth of the U.S. economy and employ one of every eight workers. Even with the overall job losses the past two years, the payrolls of fair use industries grew from $895 billion in 2002 to an average of $1.2 trillion during 2008 and 2009.”