Editor’s Note: The Report of The Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property is attached here. An Op-Ed by the Commission’s Co-Chairs, Adm. Dennis Blair and Amb. John Hunstman published in the Washington Post is available here. Below is one of the Report’s Key Findings:
The Impact of International IP Theft on the American Economy
Hundreds of billions of dollars per year.
The annual losses are likely to be comparable to the current annual level of U.S. exports to Asia—over $300 billion. The exact figure is unknowable, but private and governmental studies tend to understate the impacts due to inadequacies in data or scope. The members of the Commission agree with the assessment by the Commander of the United States Cyber Command and Director of the National Security Agency, General Keith Alexander, that the ongoing theft of IP is “the greatest transfer of wealth in history.”
Millions of jobs.
If IP were to receive the same protection overseas that it does here, the American economy would add millions of jobs.
A drag on U.S. GDP growth.
Better protection of IP would encourage significantly more R&D investment and economic growth.
Innovation.
The incentive to innovate drives productivity growth and the advancements that improve the quality of life. The threat of IP theft diminishes that incentive.
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