US government finally admits most piracy estimates are bogus

(link)

A nice, measured treatment of the flaws (especially the common citations of bogus or non-existent work) in pro-IP surveys and studies, usually commissioned by "content industries" (organisations like the MPAA, RIAA, BSA etc) which often contain "specific and alarmist rhetoric".

It's US-centric but has some very sane and generally applicable points, like: "For instance, these studies ignore the obvious points that pirating goods leaves consumers with more disposable income, which is likely spent elsewhere in the economy. Effects on the economy as a whole, then, are terribly speculative and seem more likely to be simply redistributive".