Growth in industries based on copyrights

Copyright-based industries are powering a greater portion of the overall economy, according to studies released by the National Administration of Copyright in Beijing last week. 

The value generated by companies with copyrights increased from 4.94 percent of the country's GDP in 2004 to 6.55 percent in 2009.

Yu Cike, a senior official at the NAC, defined so-called copyright-based industries in four categories in accordance with standards set by the World Intellectual Property Organization:

Core copyright industries such as news, literary work, music, film and video, broadcast and TV, photography, software, visual art, painting and advertising.

The interdependent copyright sector that covers devices needed to use copyrighted material, which include televisions, radios, audio and visual recorders, CD and DVD players, electronic game consoles, computers, instruments, cameras, copiers and unrecorded media.

The partial copyright sector, which includes garments, textiles, shoes, jewelry, crafted works, furniture, household goods, toys and gamed, architecture, and house designs.

The support sector, which ranges from general distribution and retail for copyright-based products, to transportation, telephone and the Internet industry.

The interdependent sector dominates the export of China-made copyright-based products, Yu said.

China's exports from core copyright industries continues to lag, though it grew slightly over the six-year period to generate $8.75 billion in revenues in 2009, just 0.66 percent of total exports.

Yu noted a "huge difference" for the United States, which had nearly $130 billion in overseas sales from just a few of its core copyright industries in the same year, far surpassing other industries such as aircraft manufacturing, agricultural products, autos and medicine.

China's combined copyright-based industries generated about 2.2 trillion yuan in yearly production value in 2009, less than one-fourth of the US figure.

More than 10.8 million US residents worked in copyright industries in 2009, while in China the industries created jobs for 9.9 million people.

The growing importance of the copyright-backed industries in the national economy is closely related to the rising significance the Chinese government places on intellectual property, Yu said.

He noted that a national IP strategy initiated in 2008 improved the legal framework and increased the number copyright agencies while raising awareness and enforcement.

The report on copyright-based industries is the result of research by the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication, authorized by NAC. Since 2007, the institute has made three surveys of the wide-ranging sector.

The results are now included in WIPO publications.