Lithuanian copyright industry in the global context

Abstract

The Lithuanian copyright-based sector is analyzed in terms of the sector’s contribution to the national value added, employment, and the foreign trade in 2000–2008. The copyright industry is defined as the set of all the economic activities based on intellectual property and related rights along with the corresponding share of interdependent and supporting economic activities. Lithuanian copyright industry contribution to the economy closely matches the corresponding contributions in Finland, Latvia, or the Philippines. The Lithuanian copyright industry made up between 4.79 and 5.62 percent of GVA during the period. It is shown that the copyright industry in Lithuania is more important in terms of GVA than in terms of employment. The contribution of the copyright industry to exports closely matched its contribution to the national employment and GVA. Though rapidly contracting but still the largest copyright activity was Press and Literature with nearly 1 percent contribution. Software and Databases, being second in size, has been quickly catching up over the last decade. The copyright economic analysis is conducted by designing statistical estimates consistent with national accounting.