Piracy promotes legit sales--GAO

PIRATES—NOT ALL BAD: A new report put together by the Government Accountability Office at the request of Congress acknowledges that piracy and counterfeiting have a negative effect on the U.S. economy, but its findings also pointed to "potential positive economic effects of counterfeiting and piracy." According to the GAO report, "consumers may use pirated goods to 'sample' music, movies, software, or electronic games before purchasing legitimate copies," potentially leading to "increased sales of legitimate goods." (4/14a)