According to the article posted on the Arstechnica.com, three widely cited estimates of US industry losses due to intellectual property infringement are not accurate, according to a recent report released by the US government's own internal watchdog — the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO then went on to slam three particular reports often linked to the government that the figures commonly cited were bogus and at least one was still being used officially.

Assertions that U.S. businesses lose 200-250 billion U.S. dollar to counterfeiting on an annual basis, 750,000 jobs, up to 250 billion U.S. dollar a year in revenue and 3 billion U.S. dollar in auto parts sales could be lost due to counterfeiting were made by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) respectively.

According to the GAO noted, a 2002 FBI press release said U.S. businesses lose 200 to 250 billion U.S. dollar to counterfeiting yearly, but that statement could not be corroborated because it had no record of source or methodology on how the estimate was generated. A 2002 press release by CBP estimated U.S. businesses and industries lose 200 billion U.S. dollar a year in revenue and 750,000 jobs due to counterfeits. Yet these figures are of uncertain origin, have been discredited, and are no longer used by US customs, the report cited a CBP official saying. Another figure comes from the U.S. Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association, which has estimated the U.S. auto parts industry, loses 3 billion U.S. dollar in sales annually due to counterfeit goods. It attributed the figure to the FTC. But FTC officials were reportedly unable to locate any record or source of the estimate in its reports or archives, and could not find anyone in the agency who recalls developing or using the estimate, the report said. 

(China IP News)