WASHINGTON - Today, the International Intellectual Property Institute (IIPI) and the Organization of American States (OAS) hosted a presentation of a new report by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) from their series: National Studies on Assessing the Economic Contribution of the Copyright-based Industries. Copyright Alliance Executive Director Sandra Aistars made the following statement:

"The Copyright Alliance welcomes today's WIPO Studies on the Economic Contribution of the Copyright Industries, a report highlighting the significant global economic contributions of the creative community. The report contains an analysis of the economic contributions of copyright industries, including the motion picture and television, music, and software industries as well as graphic and visual artists, authors, photographers and others, in 30 countries. Of the countries included in the report, the U.S. creative sector is the leading contributor to GDP at 11 percent; on average the creative sector contributes 5.4 percent to GDP.

"The 11 million artists and creators living and working in the U.S. play an important role in fueling economies throughout the world, contributing to both economic growth and employment. Of particular importance, the report shows that the creative community's contributions to the economy are strongest in countries with established copyright protections.

"We welcome the study and the important statistical information contained in this report."