copyrightissues

The "fair use economy" is enormous, growing, and endangered by the relatively tiny entertainment industry - Boing Boing

The IT industry's US lobby group has released a report calculating the size of the "fair use economy" in the US -- all the businesses that rely on fair use, including web hosting companies, private schools, search engines and many others. The total for 2007 (the last year for which stats are available) is a whopping $4.7 trillion -- one sixth of US GDP -- with over 17 million people employed.

The report is a counterpoint to those crazy Hollywood stats that show that every job in America will disappear unless copyright is extended to infinity, all network connections are surveilled, and every infringer is fined her entire net worth and stuck in jail.

See original: Del.icio.us The "fair use economy" is enormous, growing, and endangered by the relatively tiny entertainment industry - Boing Boing

David Bollier

independent policy strategist, journalist, activist and consultant with an evolving public-interest portfolio. My work tends to focus on a few key concerns: reclaiming the commons, understanding how digital technologies are changing democratic culture, fighting the excesses of intellectual property law, fortifying consumer rights and promoting citizen action.<br />
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Most of my work these days is focused on the politics, economics

See original: Del.icio.us David Bollier