The two types of criminal activity are costing the economy $600 billion (€566 billion) a year.
Financial Tribune reported on research from the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property, which found that “counterfeit goods, software piracy and the theft of trade secrets cost the American economy as much as $600 billion a year”, ranging from $225 billion (€212 billion), while the theft of trade secrets “alone costs” the US between $180 million (€169 billion) and $540 billion (€509 billion) per year.
Counterfeit goods cost the economy $29 billion (€27 billion) to $41 billion (€38 billion) per year, while pirated software costs around $18 billion (€16 billion) a year, with the findings said to “echo those of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence”, which two years ago “pegged the annual cost of economic espionage by computer hacking” at around $400 billion (€377 billion).
The commission “labels China the world’s number one culprit”, with China “including Hong Kong” accounting for 87 percent of counterfeits “entering the United States”, while the report claimed that the “Chinese government encourages intellectual property theft”. It was led by “former Republican presidential candidate and Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, who also served as US ambassador to China”, alongside Admiral Dennis Blair, a “former director of US national intelligence”.
Huntsman commented that “the vast, illicit transfer of American innovation is one of the most significant economic issues impacting US competitiveness that the nation has not fully addressed. It looks to be, or must be, a top priority of the new administration”. Yesterday, The Recycler reported that cyber hacking in the UK has cost the economy £2 billion ($2.4/€2.3 billion).