373 Thousand New Jobs and $16.3 Billion in Earnings Lost to Copyright Piracy

373 Thousand New Jobs and $16.3 Billion in Earnings Lost to Copyright Piracy

DALLAS, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the Department of Labor announced September's unemployment numbers. According to a report by the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI), 373,375 of Americans currently unemployed can thank motion picture, sound recording, video game and software pirates for the lack of job opportunities and the inability to share $16.3 billion in earnings.

-- JOBS: Absent piracy, 373,375 new jobs would have been added to the U.S. economy. Of this amount, 123,814 jobs would have been added in the copyright or "downstream" retail industries, while 249,561 jobs would have been added in other U.S. industries.

-- EARNINGS: Copyright piracy costs U.S. workers $16.3 billion annually in lost earnings. Of this amount, $7.2 billion would have been earned by workers in the copyright industries while $9.1 billion would have been earned by workers in other U.S. industries.

These findings are published in the IPI report "The True Cost of Copyright Piracy to the U.S. Economy," the first study to analyze the overall effect of copyright piracy upon the overall economy.

"Copyright piracy harms a broad segment of the U.S. economy that extends far beyond the U.S. companies that distribute copyright-protected works," said Stephen E. Siwek, author of the IPI report and principal with Economists, Inc.

"These estimates underscore the true magnitude of the copyright piracy problem to the U.S. economy as a whole," concluded Siwek.

This analysis is the third and final in a series of intellectual property papers examining the overall economic impact of copyright piracy and patent infringement.

For report copies, visit www.ipi.org or contact Erin Fitch at (972) 874-5139. The author is available for interview. IPI is an economic, public policy organization based in Texas.

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Source: Institute for Policy Innovation

CONTACT: Erin Fitch of the Institute for Policy Innovation,
+1-972-874-5139, erinfitch@ipi.org

Web Site: http://www.ipi.org/

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Profile: International Entertainment