Washington — Congressman Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Congressman Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, will offer opening remarks at the release of a new economic study on the value of industries like technology and media, which rely on copyright exceptions like fair use.
“Fair Use in the Economy 2017,” to be released in a webcast Friday, found that one sixth of the economy depends on exceptions to copyright law such as fair use. Andrew Szamosszegi and Mary Ann McCleary, economic consultants with Capital Trade, Incorporated, found 18 million U.S. workers, one out of eight, are employed by a company that benefits from protections provided by fair use.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association commissioned the study conducted using publicly available government data and World Intellectual Property Organization methodology. It found that companies benefiting from limitations on the exclusive rights of copyright holders, such as “fair use” – generated revenue of $5.6 trillion in 2014, a $1 trillion increase since 2010. Exports also grew rapidly from 2010 to 2014 as fair use industries like internet services grew 21 percent from $304 to $368 billion.
WHO:
Congressman Jared Polis, D-Colo.
Congressman Blake Farenthold, R-Texas
Andrew Szamosszegi, Capital Trade, Inc. economist and report author
Matt Schruers, CCIA Vice President Law and Policy
WHAT: Release of the updated 2017 “Fair Use in the Economy” study
WHEN: Friday, June 9 at 10:00am EDT
WHERE: Event Lobby (Audience register & view webcast slideshow )
Audience Line: 877-407-4035 / 201-689-8356 (Passcode 13664230)
WHY: The following can be attributed to CCIA President & CEO Ed Black on why CCIA has commissioned this type of study since 2007, and updated it every few years:
“Fair use is critical to the innovation economy. Much of the unprecedented growth of the tech and communications industry can be credited to the fair use doctrine, which while not unique to the U.S. is much stronger here than in other countries. It’s one reason why the U.S. is often where new media and tech startups launch. This cornerstone doctrine fosters creativity and innovation and must be protected in any plans to grow the economy and jobs. We also hope this study can help counter the misinformation surrounding the value of intellectual property and help policymakers realize that a ‘more protection is better’ approach is simplistic and wrong, and without balancing measures like fair use would have severe negative economic consequences.”