Congress Supporting Copyright in a Free Market
Friday, September 19th, 2008 by Patrick RossWe’re at a critical economic moment right now. Obviously the eye-opening upheaval on Wall Street should be of immediate attention to policymakers, but that’s not the crossroads of which I’m thinking.
The critical moment I’m thinking of is very real and can have long-term economic ramifications. If we act, it will mean saving potentially hundreds of thousands of jobs every year, and billions of dollars in economic activity. If we don’t act, those jobs and dollars will continue to be lost, to the detriment of our culture, society and not to mention federal, state and local tax coffers.
I am referring here to S. 3325, the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008. The 110th Congress is winding down, but there is widespread support in the Senate for this bill, just as there was for the PRO-IP Act, a similar bill in the House that passed 410-11. This bill absolutely needs to be among those that moves before the Congress draws to a close.
The highly respected Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) today reminded us of a study done by economist Stephen E. Siwek, a principal at Economics Inc. “The True Cost of Copyright Industry Piracy to the U.S. Economy” found that piracy cost the U.S. $58 billion in economic output and 373,375 jobs per year. The Copyright Alliance has more information on the importance of copyright in a short video on our web site.
Dr. Siwek and IPI recognize that intellectual property protection is critical in a free market. A market can’t function properly if one party is undermined by an illegal substitute product. This is most certainly true for copyrighted works such as movies, CDs, books and software, but also for other IP such as pharmaceuticals and electrical products, as we learned at a fascinating hearing held by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Anyone who heard testimony about diluted, poisoned fake drugs or knockoff extension cords that catch fire will understand the importance of enforcing existing IP laws.
There is very little opposition off the Hill to the idea of a greater effort to enforce existing IP laws. There are a few opponents who are not known for their embrace of free markets but rather more tend to support more regulation, who have an issue with copyright enforcement in general and in fact argue that current laws, particularly civil ones, are enforced too much. But I for one have faith that members of the US Senate will be unlikely to support that anti-market agenda.
The economic numbers above are national ones, but copyright affects each and every community. The Copyright Alliance gathers statistics on creators and copyright industries in every state in the union. Copyright industries and copyright owners are found everywhere.
I’m writing this from Nashville, Tennessee, at the Americana Music Conference, attended by songwriters, performing artists, music publishers, independent label owners, promoters, distributors and others involved in the music industry. Of course, the reach of music in this city goes beyond Americana. There are 20,000 jobs here that are a central part of the music industry, leading to $700 million in annual wages, as well as 35,000 “spillover” jobs created because of the music industry, according to a 2006 study by Belmont University. The industry contributes more than $6 billion annually to the local economy, the study notes.
We are in fact at a crossroads. We have to recognize the tremendous economic gains that can come from even a modest reduction in piracy. We have to recognize the 11 million people across the US whose employment is tied to copyright industries, to cite the 2007 Siwek study “Copyright Industries in the US Economy: The 2006 Report” prepared for the International Intellectual Property Alliance. We have to understand that a free market demands rule of law, and rule of law means that market laws must be enforced and respected. That’s why we need S-3325.
