One in four people surveyed by the Gallop Organization and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles knowingly bought, copied, or downloaded illegal goods in 2006.

The 25% piracy rate of Los Angeles County residents surveyed in May and June was slightly higher than the 20% nationwide rate the chamber found last year.

Not surprisingly, most of the counterfeit purchases were movies and music CDs, followed by brand name clothing, bags and footwear, and consumer goods such as shampoo, computer software, auto parts, video games and even bottled water.

Earlier in the year, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. released a study claiming that the Southern California region loses an estimated $5.2 billion to counterfeit and piracy activities(pdf).

See more market values at our Counterfeit and Piracy page.