Fair Use industries add $4.5 trillion to economy September 16, 2007
We hear about the millions of dollars the entertainment industry claims to lose due to unauthorised use of copyrighted material all the time. But how much does fair use contribute to the economy? A lot, that’s how much! A new study commissioned by the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) found that fair use enabled industries to add 4.5 trillion dollars to our economy in 2006.
“With more than $4.5 trillion in revenue generated by fair use dependent industries in 2006, a 31% increase since 2002, fair use industries are directly responsible for more than 18% of U.S. economic growth and nearly 11 million American jobs. In fact, nearly one out of every eight American jobs is in an industry that benefits from current limitations on copyright.”
That’s a good deal more then the measly $819 billion “core copyright industries” generated in 2005. It stands to reason that strengthening fair use rights will generate more jobs, more money, and lead to a stronger economy. Head over to the CCIA web site to read the full press release. There’s more (and better) coverage at Ars, BoingBoing, and the Defend Fair Use web site launched by the CCIA.
