On September 11, 2024, the Copyright Office released a new report demonstrating what IP-intensive industries already affirm: Americans nationwide are incredibly creative. The Copyright Office’s Chief Economist studied the almost six million copyright registrations from 2009-2022 and analyzed that data by geography.
Creativity from Coast to Coast
The report reveals that Americans all across the country, in communities large and small, are generating copyrightable creative works. Nearly every county in America was the source of at least one copyright registration application. We already know from several different reports, including the USPTO’s study “Intellectual Property and the U.S. Economy,” that IP-intensive industries generate high-quality jobs and economic growth. The copyright sector alone supports over 6.5 million jobs and generates about $1.3 trillion towards the American GDP. When we connect the dots between those facts and the geographically diverse sources of creative output, we see that copyright supports jobs and economic activity in Anytown and Everytown, USA.
Small Businesses: The Heart of Copyright and Creativity
It’s only natural that when people think of copyright-intensive industries, their first thoughts are often of well-known companies and celebrities. Thanks to this report from the Copyright Office, we see that people who rely on copyright protection are more often individual creators, such as photographers, graphic designers, local newspapers, bands, authors, and more. Those individual and small business creators are the ones who need effective copyright protection and enforcement most of all. This is especially true when fighting widespread foreign-based infringement. That is why the U.S. Chamber supported the creation of a small-claims process for copyright infringement. And that is why we look for ways to keep America’s creative communities and consumers safe from foreign piracy and the criminal syndicates behind it, such as through our upcoming digital piracy symposium.
The Bottom Line
The U.S. Chamber Global Innovation Policy Center continues working on its own projects that will show how copyright and creativity support jobs, economic growth, and quality of life for all Americans. We look forward to sharing more of these soon and to working with the Copyright Office and Congress to continue to promote and protect the creative communities who make America what it is: an incredibly fun, creative place to live.
