Piracy to cost Europe $328m by 2015

Piracy will cost Europe 1.2 million jobs and $328m (€240m)by 2015, according to a study into the impact of piracy published this week.

 “Building A Digital Economy:The Importance of Saving Jobs in the EU’s Creative Industries “ is the first EU-wide study into the impact of piracy on the creative industries in the five major European markets - Germany, UK, France, Italy and Spain.

According to the findings, the UK’s creative industries experienced retail revenue losses of $1.9bn  (€1.41 bn)and losses of 39,000 jobs due to piracy in 2008, whilst the Europe-wide figures reached nearly $13.7bn (€10bn) in revenue and 186,400 jobs.

The study, which was commissioned by the International Chamber of Commerce’s Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy Initiative (BASCAP), predicts that the loss in the UK alone could be up to 254,000 jobs and $10.7bn (€7.8bn) in retail revenue by 2015, if measures outlined by the Digital Economy Bill are not adopted.

Commenting on the research, Brendan Barber, General Secretary of UK based Trade Union Congress (TUC), said: “The scale of the problem is truly frightening now – let alone in the future if no firm actions against illegal file-sharing are taken. If there was ever the proof needed to demonstrate why the Digital Economy Bill is imperative for the protection of our creative industries, this report is it.”

Liz Bales, of UK body Industry Trust, which recently launched a series of anti piracy trailers in UK cinemas, added: “Our research shows that consumers can feel removed from the idea of industry job losses - but show them how their actions have a direct impact on their own future viewing experience and they’re much more willing to listen. This is the thinking behind the Industry Trust’s You Make the Movies campaign. It puts the public right at the heart of film and TV production, showing that without them, the content they love simply couldn’t get made.”