The U. S. Patent and Trademark Office, together with the Economics and Statistics Administration, has just released a report on Intellectual Property’s effect on the U. S. economy. You can find the report here.
The take-away message is that in 2010, Intellectual-Property-intensive industries, directly or indirectly, generated 40 million jobs in the U. S. In other words 28% of all people employed in the U. S. are employed in IP-intensive industries or in industries that support them. This is a contribution to the U. S. gross domestic product of more than $5 trillion or 35% of the US GDP.
We should all keep these figures in mind when special interests step up and demand changes to the system. While the protection of IP in this country can certainly be improved, changes should be made carefully to prevent harming a $5 trillion sector of the economy.
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