The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) has released the 2006 Copyright Industries in the U.S. Economy report, which presents the copyright industries’ impact on the American economy through 2004, with estimates for 2005.

The IIPA report is an important effort that demonstrates the societal benefits of copyright policies. The primary implication of the study is that copyright-based goods and services are critical to continued U.S. economic growth. Even though copyright policy must be balanced with various societal values such as free access to information and personal use of licensed media, lets not hold these other values with such disproportionate concern as to downplay the importance of modern copyright policy.

The U.S. copyright industries have consistently out-performed the rest of the U.S. economy, in terms of their real annual growth rates and their contributions to the overall growth of the U.S. economy as a whole…

…consistent positive trends in value added, employment levels, and foreign sales and exports solidify the status of the copyright industries as a key industry that leads in the stimulation of U.S. economic growth.

As new technologies support the development of new distribution methods for legitimate copyrighted products, the U.S. copyright-based industries…are optimistic that economic growth, combined with strong laws and effective enforcement, will continue to pave the way for economic growth in both the U.S. and global markets.

The copyright industries, often in the middle of fierce policy debates, should be seen for their role in the nation’s economy.

The report finds that the copyright industries grow at more than twice the rate of the overall American economy and out-perform many other sectors. The total percentage of U.S. economic growth accounted for by the copyright industries was 25.36% in 2004 and an estimated 23.78 % in 2005. Further, since 2003, the copyright industries have contributed 2.1 times their dollar share of GDP to real growth of the overall U.S. GDP.

The core copyright industry, which relies most on copyrights, includes the sound recording, motion picture, computer software, broadcasting and publishing industries, contributed $819.1 billion to the economy in 2005, compared to $569.1 billion for non-core copyright industries. This core group also contributed 12.96% to real U.S. economic growth in 2005.

The IIPA report was most likely drafted for policy makers, however, other audiences, such as those who enjoy goods and services that rely on copyright policy, or, who do not yet grasp the benefits of current copyright laws, should definitely take a look at this study.