Facts About IP
Reducing the piracy rate in the United States by 10 percentage points in two years would add more than $52 billion to the country’s gross domestic product by 2013, an amount close to last year’s corporate profits for all US manufacturing of durable goods. It would meanwhile boost US tax revenues by more than $8 billion. (“BSA and IDC Global Piracy Software Study,” Business Software Alliance & IDC, May 2010)
Reducing the piracy rate for PC software by 10 percentage points in four years would create $142 billion in new economic activity — more than 80 percent accruing to local industries — while adding nearly 500,000 new high-tech jobs and generating roughly $32 billion in new tax revenues. (“BSA and IDC Global Piracy Software Study,” Business Software Alliance & IDC, May 2010)
If this quicker pace of reducing software piracy were repeated in all 42 countries studied, it could produce $193 billion in new economic activity by 2013 and generate $43 billion in new tax revenues. (“BSA and IDC Global Piracy Software Study,” Business Software Alliance & IDC, May 2010)
Globally, IDC estimates that the piracy rate for PC software last year was 43 percent, meaning that more than four out of 10 software applications installed on PCs were unlicensed. The commercial value of all that unlicensed software totaled more than $51 billion. (“BSA and IDC Global Piracy Software Study,” Business Software Alliance & IDC, May 2010)
Among the 27 tradable industries, only six industries reported trade surpluses—five of which were IP-intensive industries, generating an average $14.6 billion in trade surplus each year. (“The Impact of Innovation and the Role of Intellectual Property Rights on U.S. Productivity, Competitiveness, Jobs, Wages and Exports,” NDP Consulting, 2010)
IP-intensive industries accounted for approximately 60 percent of total U.S. exports from 2000-07–rising from $665 billion in 2000 to $910 billion in 2007. In that time period, American firms exported an annual average $405.5 billion of IP-intensive products versus $278.1 billion of non-IP-intensive products. (“The Impact of Innovation and the Role of Intellectual Property Rights on U.S. Productivity, Competitiveness, Jobs, Wages and Exports,” NDP Consulting, 2010)
America is a net exporter of intellectual property, contributing $37 billion to our trade balance in 2006. (Shayerah Ilias and Ian F. Ferguson, "Intellectual Property Rights and International Trade," Congressional Research Service, December 2007)
During 2000-07, IP-intensive industries spent almost 13 times more on R&D per employee than in non-IP-intensive industries. Industry spending on R&D in the United States accounts for approximately 72 percent of total R&D spending, totaling nearly $1.2 trillion, an average of $145 billion annually. (“The Impact of Innovation and the Role of Intellectual Property Rights on U.S. Productivity, Competitiveness, Jobs, Wages and Exports,” NDP Consulting, 2010)
From 2000-07, IP-intensive industries made up nearly half of output and sales of all 27 U.S. tradable industries and employed more than 30 percent of American workers in all 27 tradable industries. (“The Impact of Innovation and the Role of Intellectual Property Rights on U.S. Productivity, Competitiveness, Jobs, Wages and Exports,” NDP Consulting, 2010)
Intellectual property accounts for over half of all U.S. exports, helping drive 40% of U.S. economic growth. (U.S. Department Of Commerce, “Bush Administration Officials Update Congress On Intellectual Property Enforcement Efforts,” Press Release, 26 July 2006)
In 2005, the American motion picture industry had a $9.5 billion trade surplus, which represented 12% of the entire U.S. private-sector service trade surplus. (“The Economic Impact Of The Motion Picture & Television Production Industry On The United States,” Motion Picture Association Of America, 2006)
U.S. intellectual property is worth between $5.0 trillion and $5.5 trillion—more than the nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of any other country. (Robert J. Shapiro and Kevin A. Hassett, “The Economic Value Of Intellectual Property,” USA For Innovation, October 2005)
In 2006 alone, 425,966 applications for patents were submitted in the United States and 173,770 patents were granted, which represented more than 24% of all patents granted worldwide. (“World Patent Report: A Statistical Review,” World Intellectual Property Organization, 2008.)
IDC calculates that the $45 billion worth of unlicensed PC software in the 42 countries covered in the U.S caused total losses of revenue, employment and taxes from related sectors in excess of $110 billion. (“BSA and IDC Global Piracy Software Study,” Business Software Alliance & IDC, May 2010)
Counterfeit footwear was the top commodity seized in FY 2009 with a domestic value of $99.7M, which accounted for 38% of the entire value of infringing goods.(Customs and Border Protection, Intellectual Property Rights - Seizure Statistics: Fiscal Year 2009)
During 2000-07, the annual salary of all workers in IP-intensive industries averaged about 60 percent higher than the workers at similar levels in non-IP-intensive industries. Meanwhile, annual salaries of low-skilled workers in IP-intensive industries averaged about 40 percent higher than in non-IP-based industries. IP jobs include all educational levels, skills levels, demographics, and industrial sectors. (“The Impact of Innovation and the Role of Intellectual Property Rights on U.S. Productivity, Competitiveness, Jobs, Wages and Exports,” NDP Consulting, 2010)
The Census Bureau reports that the number of IP-intensive production workers during 2000-07 averaged 9.5 million, equal to about 65 percent of total employment in all United States’ tradable industries. During this time, all but three U. S. tradable industries cut jobs. Pharmaceuticals, information software, and medical equipment—each an IP intensive industry—added them. (“The Impact of Innovation and the Role of Intellectual Property Rights on U.S. Productivity, Competitiveness, Jobs, Wages and Exports,” NDP Consulting, 2010)
China was the top trading partner for IPR seizures in FY 2009 with a domestic value of $204.7M, accounting for 79% of the total value seized.(Customs and Border Protection, Intellectual Property Rights - Seizure Statistics: Fiscal Year 2009)
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, there were 14,841 intellectual property rights (IPR) seizures with a domestic value of $260.7 million (M). (Customs and Border Protection, Intellectual Property Rights - Seizure Statistics: Fiscal Year 2009)
In the UK, research from Harris Interactive in 2009 highlighted that nearly one in four P2P file-sharers (24%) typically spend nothing on music, while finding an overlap of legal and illegal downloading among some file-sharers. (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, Digital Music Piracy Report 2010, January 2010)
Despite the continuing growth of the digital music business - with trade revenues up 12% to an estimated US$4.2 billion in 2009 - illegal file-sharing and other forms of online piracy are eroding investment and sales of local music in major markets. (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, Digital Music Piracy Report 2010, January 2010)
The cost of one product adulteration or counterfeiting incident averages between 2 and 15 percent of yearly revenues, depending on company size; this could translate to a $400 million impact for a large company, or a $60 million impact for a small company. (Grocery Manufacturers Association and A.T. Kearney, “Consumer Product Fraud: Deterrence and Detection”, January 2010)
From 2000 to 2004, new science and engineering jobs were created at a 28% higher rate in IP-intensive industries than in non-IP-intensive areas. (Robert J. Shapiro and Nam D. Pham, “Economic Effects Of Intellectual Property-Intensive Manufacturing In The United States,” World Growth, July 2007)
Average manufacturing workers in IP-intensive states earn approximately $7,000 per year more than average employees in non-IP-intensive states. (Robert J. Shapiro and Nam D. Pham, “Economic Effects Of Intellectual Property-Intensive Manufacturing In The United States,” World Growth, July 2007)
As of 2008, IP-intensive industries employed 18 million Americans. (U.S. Department Of Commerce, “Secretary Of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez Opinion Editorial,” Press Release, 11 May 2008)
In 2006, American firms owned more than one-third of global IP filings. (Shayerah Ilias and Ian F. Ferguson, “Intellectual Property Rights and International Trade,” Congressional Research Service, 20 December 2007)
Jobs in IP-intensive industries, such as pharmaceuticals and computers and electronics, are expected to grow faster over the next decade than the national average. (Robert J. Shapiro and Nam D. Pham, “Economic Effects Of Intellectual Property-Intensive Manufacturing In The United States,” World Growth, July 2007)
Three of the top ten categories of commodities seized include products posing possible safety or security risks.(Customs and Border Protection, Intellectual Property Rights - Seizure Statistics: Fiscal Year 2009)
Economic adulteration and counterfeiting of global food and consumer products is expected to cost the industry $10 to $15 billion per year. (Grocery Manufacturers Association and A.T. Kearney, “Consumer Product Fraud: Deterrence and Detection”, January 2010)
According to a report by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, seizures of products violating IP rights posing potential safety and security risks increased from $27.8 million to $62.5 million. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection & US immigration and Customs Enforcement Report on Intellectual Property Rights, January 2009.)
International and domestic theft of sound recordings costs the U.S. economy $12.5 billion in lost revenue, approximately 71,000 jobs and more than $2 billion in wages to U.S. workers. (Siewick, Stephen E., The True Cost of Sound Recording Piracy to the U.S. Economy, Institute for Policy Innovation Report # 188, 21 August 2007.)
According to a report by the Federal Trade Commission counterfeiting is estimated to cost the global automotive parts industry $12 billion a year in lost sales; $3 billion of that total is in the United States. It is also estimated that U.S. auto parts industry lost sales correlates to potentially 200,000- 250, 000 fewer manufacturing jobs. (“Intellectual Property: Protecting Valuable Assets in a Global Market,” MEMA Brand Protection Council, 3rd Edition, June 2009.)
According to the World Health Organization, up to 10% of medicines worldwide are counterfeit—a deadly hazard that could be costing the pharmaceutical industry $46 billion a year. (Balfour, Frederick, Amy Barrett, Diane Brady, Kerry Capell, Paul Magnusson, Carol Matlack, Dexter Roberts, William C. Symonds, and Johnathan Wheatley, “Fakes!,” Business Week, 7 February 2005.)
The U.S.-based Center for Medicine in the Public Interest predicts that counterfeit drug sales will reach $75 billion globally in 2010, an increase of more than 90% from 2005. (“Counterfeiting Facts and Stats,” Protection from Brand Infection, CMO Council. 28 April 2009)