Anyone got the text from behind the paywall?
forced ip transfer
I very much appreciated this comment.
How China Systematically Pries Technology from U.S. Companies
71–80 of 208 posts
Re: How China Systematically Pries Technology from U.S. Companies
#72US companies go into China eyes wide open - they can extract a few quarters of profit from their products and services but that's it; the Chinese will then expect to do it themselves and keep all the profits to themselves.
To most its not a good deal. To US companies, that are driven by quarterly targets then it is very much a case of sacrificing the future for the present. And if they stay out of China then the odds are that hackers will either steal the info anyway or another western competitor will play ball.
There's just no way to stop this happening as I see it. The best non-US companies can do is negotiate an equity stake in their local partners and hope the government doesn't pass laws to take it away.
Re: How China Systematically Pries Technology from U.S. Companies
#73And so what??? The US pried the textile and locomotives industries from the UK, check the history of Samuel Slater[1]. Same happened for Japan under Meiji restoration. India and Brazil do the same for pharmaceutical patents, because they're too poor to afford paying them. Stealing IP will happen, no matter what treaties and governments try to do. For poor countries it is a path they just don't have the luxury of givi…
I went to the Toyota factory in Japan and they talked about how they got started by importing Chrysler vehicles from the United States, taking them apart, and basically copying them to make the first Toyota cars.
But over the years they started developing in-house knowledge, and their own innovations.
Now Toyota is known for making reliable cars that are affordable. Is the world better off with Toyota making cars? I think so. But is Chrysler worse off? I also think so. So it’s a tough one. But at the same time I like the philosophy of software startups regarding ideas: sure, take these ideas for free, it’s all in the execution.
Re: How China Systematically Pries Technology from U.S. Companies
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
The fact that we did it to the UK doesn't mean it's good for us to let China do it too. I mean, we exterminated the native Americans and stole their land--if someone tried to do that to us, should we sit back and do nothing? "Oh well, cosmic balance and whatnot!"
It’s definitely in American interests to defend IP, but I wouldn’t try to make moralistic arguments, they just come off as hypocritical given the history.
And also given how IP is abused these days much more than it was in the past, which weakens moral arguments in its favour.
Re: How China Systematically Pries Technology from U.S. Companies
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
According to Wikipedia[0] China GDP(PPP)/capita is $16,624, just below Dominican Republic and Iraq. Not sure that's "wealthy" quite yet. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)...
When an authoritarian government enforces policies that lead to massive wealth inequality it becomes pointless to measure things on a per capita basis. If China had policies in place to lift the quality of life of the majority of the population it might be acceptable to measure stuff on a per capita basis.
Funny, I think of China as one of the most extreme experiments in raising the quality of living of people by direct executive order, which you seem to imply they just aren’t doing hard enough, or don’t really care about.
China is huge and I can’t imagine how hard it is to govern.
Re: How China Systematically Pries Technology from U.S. Companies
#76US companies go into China eyes wide open - they can extract a few quarters of profit from their products and services but that's it; the Chinese will then expect to do it themselves and keep all the profits to themselves. To most its not a good deal. To US companies, that are driven by quarterly targets then it is very much a case of sacrificing the future for the present. And if they stay out of China then the odds…
Reminds me of Goolgle and Facebook comes to my country takes all the ad revenue and the country gets nothing.
Re: How China Systematically Pries Technology from U.S. Companies
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
When an authoritarian government enforces policies that lead to massive wealth inequality it becomes pointless to measure things on a per capita basis. If China had policies in place to lift the quality of life of the majority of the population it might be acceptable to measure stuff on a per capita basis.
Wealth inequality in US is not any better, under the policies of a democratic government
As a U.S. citizen myself, I was under the impression that accelerating wealth inequality was the no-longer-so-tacit woof and weave of our culture.
Re: How China Systematically Pries Technology from U.S. Companies
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
In some ways, you can't blame China for trying. It's playing dirty, but that's how international relations go. You can place a bit more blame on the US companies that let it happen. The people running them are short-sighted and unpatriotic. The real problem is that the law allows companies to be in a race to the bottom that is ultimately self-destructive. Allowing non-citizens to get access to the IP should be illega…
> You can place a bit more blame on the US companies that let it happen. This is one aspect of Chinese culture that I’ll never understand. For example, if you get cheated, it’s your fault for being lax/trusting/stupid enough to get cheated. The immorality is on the victim, which makes for some extremely paranoid business relationships when working in China. How is that beneficial in the long term? Why doesn’t such a…
> The immorality is on the victim,
Does Chinese culture actually shift moral blame onto the victim? If not, then this sounds a bit like the "victim blaming" obsession of modern American culture, which misses the crucial point - there are two types of blame to be passed around here. The offender was evil - they cheated. The victim was stupid - they were aware of the danger and ignored it.
Re: How China Systematically Pries Technology from U.S. Companies
#79Of course America got all its technology fair and square.
Re: How China Systematically Pries Technology from U.S. Companies
#80It's hard for me to believe that all the smart, capable company executives involved in planning and execution of operations in and around China are oblivious to IP risks. There is an obvious upside of operating in Asia, both cheap labor (though now decreasing) and strong work ethic coupled with access to a huge market. It seems to me that execs understand and take a calculated risk when they choose to do business in…
Oh for sure, companies are aware but what can they do about it? For all that we talk about all powerful mega corps, they still have to bow down to actual governmental power. The only appropriate way for them to fight this is by requesting diplomatic intervention from their home state.