October 10, 2008 at 18:39Fighting piracy backed up by fictional figures
It's no secret that the fight against piracy in the United States has been stubborn and long. But few people know where the numbers come from, with which the fighters confirm the need for more and more restrictions and more severe punishments.
According to fighters against intellectual pirates, 750,000 jobs were lost and 200-250 billion dollars were lost due to theft of intellectual property in the United States. These numbers are cited each time Congressional hearings of new anti-piracy proposals. They have already become a kind of mascot of fighters. But what are they based on?
So, the figure of 750,000 jobs is mentioned by the US Department of Commerce and Customs. More than once the figure was mentioned in Congress. But when we try to find out its origin, we get lost in the labyrinths of cross-references of fighters against piracy to each other. Most often, the source is called Customs. For example, it is mentioned in the report of the Customs for 2002 . But when independent journalists asked customs officials how the figure was calculated, they were told that it was actually calculated by someone else and was mistakenly attributed to the customs. In any case, such extensive economic research does not fall within the competence of customs officers.
Further research (in particular in the press) showed that this figure was mentioned back in 1986. More precisely, in a quote from Malcolm Boldridge, who argued that counterfeiting American products could cost the economy "as much as 130,000 to 750,000 jobs." Why is there so much variation? This is the same mystery as how many times you need to lick the lollipop so that only the wand remains. Not a single government document speaks of valid research that showed a figure of 750,000 jobs (which, incidentally, is 8% of all unemployed in the country).
But the figure of $ 250 billion loss is not only not proven, it exceeds all revenues from sales of music, movies, software and video games in 2005 combined.
However, the fight against piracy is based precisely on these numbers.
Based on materials from Arstechnica.com and Gizmodo
According to fighters against intellectual pirates, 750,000 jobs were lost and 200-250 billion dollars were lost due to theft of intellectual property in the United States. These numbers are cited each time Congressional hearings of new anti-piracy proposals. They have already become a kind of mascot of fighters. But what are they based on?
So, the figure of 750,000 jobs is mentioned by the US Department of Commerce and Customs. More than once the figure was mentioned in Congress. But when we try to find out its origin, we get lost in the labyrinths of cross-references of fighters against piracy to each other. Most often, the source is called Customs. For example, it is mentioned in the report of the Customs for 2002 . But when independent journalists asked customs officials how the figure was calculated, they were told that it was actually calculated by someone else and was mistakenly attributed to the customs. In any case, such extensive economic research does not fall within the competence of customs officers.
Further research (in particular in the press) showed that this figure was mentioned back in 1986. More precisely, in a quote from Malcolm Boldridge, who argued that counterfeiting American products could cost the economy "as much as 130,000 to 750,000 jobs." Why is there so much variation? This is the same mystery as how many times you need to lick the lollipop so that only the wand remains. Not a single government document speaks of valid research that showed a figure of 750,000 jobs (which, incidentally, is 8% of all unemployed in the country).
But the figure of $ 250 billion loss is not only not proven, it exceeds all revenues from sales of music, movies, software and video games in 2005 combined.
However, the fight against piracy is based precisely on these numbers.
Based on materials from Arstechnica.com and Gizmodo