Berman calls for new IP law—using dodgy data

[nsane.forums]

If you thought that Rep. Howard "Hollywood" Berman (D-CA) would step back from intellectual property issues once he assumed the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee this year, think again—Berman will just define his old bugaboos as "foreign affairs" issues. And he'll use some shockingly dodgy statistics to justify it.

Berman has been a longtime champion of Hollywood, which isn't surprising since he literally represents the area. In his work on intellectual property, he has shown himself willing to compromise and to fix obviously bad provisions in bills under consideration, but he's certainly a champion of US rightsholders.

Breaking down the numbers

All of which helps to explain why Berman convened a "field hearing" in Van Nuys, California, yesterday to hear from various movie and music executives about just how bad counterfeiting and piracy has become. In his press release touting the hearing, Berman pointed to four statistics:

* The International Intellectual Property Alliance said that copyright infringement in 43 countries caused an estimated $18.3 billion in trade losses in 2007

* The Motion Picture Association of America noted that the film industry lost $6.1 billion in 2005 due to motion picture piracy

* The music industry estimates there were more than 40 billion illegal downloads in 2008

* The US Chamber of Commerce has found that trade in counterfeited goods is responsible for the loss of 750,000 American jobs per year

Unfortunately, the numbers are hugely suspect. Take the first one, from the International Intellectual Property Alliance. For one thing, it's copied incorrectly; the proper 2007 IIPA number was $20.1 billion. (The 2008 number is $18.4 billion; why Berman's release says $18.3 billion is unclear.)

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