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The “core” copyright industries, which include motion pictures and other entertainment product, added more than $1 trillion to the U.S. economy for the first time in a single year in 2012, a trade group said Tuesday.
These industries accounted for 6.5 percent of the total U.S. GDP in 2012, employed 5.4 million workers in the country and paid them an average of $85,644 annually, 33 percent more than the $64,594 that the average U.S. worker earned.
The study, from the International Intellectual Property Alliance, traced the economic impact of industries that create, produce, broadcast or exhibit copyrighted materials such as computer software, video games, books, newspapers, radio and TV programming, movies, music and more.
RELATED: Russia to Form New Copyright Watchdog in New Anti-Piracy Push
These core copyright industries also accounted for $142 billion in foreign sales and exports, more than such sectors as food and agriculture.
“This report makes it crystal clear that workers in the creative industries make a huge contribution to America’s economy. It also underscores the urgent need to do more to build, strengthen and protect employment in this dynamic part of our nation’s economy,” said Matt Loeb, international president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts (IATSE).
The study, called the Copyright Industries in the U.S. Economy: The 2013 Report, was prepared by Stephen E. Siwek of Economists Incorporated for the IIPA and updates 13 previous studies. It is based on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and other government agencies.
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