The IIC just published a report commissioned by BASCAP entitled Estimating the global economic and social impacts of counterfeiting and piracy. Researched by Frontier Economics Ltd, the report estimates that based on 2008 data, the total global economic value of counterfeit and pirated products is as much as $650 billion every year. It found that international trade accounts for more than half of counterfeiting and piracy (estimated at $285 billion to $360 billion), domestic production and consumption accounts for between $140 billion and $215 billion and digitally pirated music, movies and software accounts for between $30 billion and $75 billion. The report also estimated that counterfeiting and piracy cost G20 governments in tax revenues and consumers over $125 billion every year.
The report states that the value of counterfeit and pirated products in trade has increased by up to $160 billion (to $360 billion) between 2005 and 2008, an increase of around 22% per year. Were counterfeiting and piracy to continue to grow at a lower rate of 15% per year, according to the report, it would result in trade in counterfeit and pirated products worth up to $960 billion by 2015.
The report concluded that the global value of counterfeit and pirated products could be up to $1.77 trillion by 2015.
This report supports the findings of the RCMP published last September which found piracy and counterfeiting to be a major problem for Canadians.
4 comments
Globally I can’t see how piracy would cost the world governments a single dollar of tax money. Money which is saved by using pirated goods will be spent in the economy on other goods. The overall loss to governments will be exactly zero.
Now individual governments that represent disproportionately larger segments of cultural industries (such as the US) will suffer significantly from the income loss in certain sectors. But all governments, on balance? Not so much.
The studies show otherwise. BTW, since when do we count postive externalities assocdiated with acts of malfeasance? Can theft be justiffied on econhomic grounds because the public can buy fenced good cheaply?
I’m not making any attempt to justify piracy. The morality of such activity is complete beside my point.
I am saying that the claim that “piracy cost G20 governments in tax revenues and consumers over $125 billion every year” is wrong because the various governments will still see that tax revenue when the money not spent in the cultural sectors is spent elsewhere. None of the piracy studies I have seen to date take this into account at all.
There may well be losers as a result of piracy, but I have yet to see any evidence that the government is one of them.
Many studies show the clear link between piracy and counterfeiting and reductions in tax revenues. This is not new at all,