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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2: Movie Piracy Costs Significant Losses in American Jobs, Earnings, Taxes and Output

Movie piracy hurts more than just Hollywood pocketbooks. Groundbreaking research released today by the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) is the first to measure piracy's cost to the overall economy. The findings are astonishing:

-- 141,030 jobs - new jobs lost

-- $5.5 billion - lost annual earnings among U.S workers

-- $837 million - lost annual tax revenue

-- $20.5 billion - lost annual output to all U.S. industries

"While the movie industry is clearly harmed by movie piracy, the greater story is the harm to U.S. citizens," said Bartlett Cleland, director of the IPI Center for Technology Freedom.

The IPI report, "The True Cost of Motion Picture Piracy to the U.S. Economy," was authored by Stephen E. Siwek, principal with Economists, Inc. According to Siwek, "As policymakers seek to maintain the health and vitality of the U.S. economy and preserve our global competitiveness, the importance of recognizing the real costs of piracy and counterfeiting cannot be overstated."

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

IPI's report was released at a press conference held today in conjunction with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's third annual anti-piracy and counterfeiting summit.

Article courtesy of USNewsWire.com
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