San Diego – A recent study by the United States International Trade Commission has revealed that intellectual property infringement by China is costing the U.S. more than one million jobs.  Despite stricter Chinese laws in the areas of trademarks, copyrights, and patents, China continues  to be a haven for counterfeiters and pirates.

The Trade Commission study surveyed U.S. businesses and found that an estimated $48 billion in revenue was lost in 2009 due to intellectual property violations from China.  An even higher estimate was realized when the commission used a statistical model rather than the survey model, with findings that up to 2.1 million U.S. jobs could be supported if China were to substantially increase its intellectual property enforcement.

According to Max Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee that requested the study, “We cannot pretend that there aren’t real consequences to these violations when these numbers show that millions of American jobs are on the line.”  He added that he hoped that a recent meeting with Chinese government officials would help “break down trade barriers and make it cheaper, faster and easier for U.S. small businesses to export to these lucrative markets.”

The United States is not the only country to suffer from China’s ongoing intellectual property infringement.  An recent study out of Beijing found that software piracy cost the domestic industry 130.9 billion Yuan ($20.1 billion) in 2010.