Report: IP Industries Crucial to U.S. Economy

WASHINGTON, D.C.: A report from the U.S. Commerce Department has found that intellectual-property intensive industries support at least 40 million jobs, contributing more than $5 trillion to the U.S. economy every year.

The report calls attention to the importance of IP protection systems. Rebecca Blank, Deputy Commerce Secretary, noted, "The work to protect intellectual property is vital to maintaining America’s competitive edge and driving our overall prosperity. That’s why this administration is unleashing new innovations and new industries by advancing a robust framework of intellectual property protections for a global economy…. By re-engineering the IP system from the ground up, we are creating a 21st century innovation architecture that’s built to last and will help America remain a global leader going forward. Intellectual property is an important step toward achieving the Commerce Department’s mission of helping American businesses build things here and sell them everywhere around the globe."

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the  Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) both praised the Commerce Department’s report.

Jean Prewitt, IFTA’s president and CEO, commented, “This report further confirms the importance of the IP industries to the growth of the U.S. economy and its job base and establishes a clear methodology for the future. The motion picture industry is a significant component of that economic story and the Independents, who are responsible for more than 75 percent of the films produced each year in the U.S., help drive those results. We applaud the Administration for the attention and resources it has dedicated to this careful analysis of the importance of the intellectual property based industries to our country and for its commitment to fostering the conditions and legal protections needed for their further development.”
 
Michael O’Leary, the senior executive VP for global policy and external affairs at the MPAA, noted, “Today’s first-ever report on intellectual property industries by the Department of Commerce shows that companies that create intellectual property provide the good paying jobs for which Americans are hungry and that are critical to our economy. Let’s work together to ensure these industries flourish. More protections for the property created by America’s finest minds and fastest innovators, from tablet computers to prescription drugs to movies, will help ensure these industries remain vibrant.”