4 ms·

It sounds like a good idea, I'm not sure, however, how it would work across international borders. A physical property is clearly somewhere and that's where it

It sounds like a good idea, I'm not sure, however, how it would work across international borders. A physical property is clearly somewhere and that's where it gets taxed. What would stop people from "moving" their intellectual properties to "IP tax heavens"?

noonespecial 15y ago
The ability to sue. No tax to America, no suit in American court
- beagle3 15y ago
  Exactly. Also, no customs & border enforcement against trademark / copyright / whatever infringement. Louis Vitton didn't pay IP tax ? They don't get to stop knock offs from being imported. Align value with cost - that's the way to properly allocate resources.
- DrJokepu 15y ago
  So, assuming that such a system was adopted worldwide, you would have to pay a tax in every country of the world if you wanted your IP to be enforceable in all territories? Because if that's the case, owning IP will be so prohibitively expensive that only large corporations will be able to afford it. I'm not sure if that would be a good thing.
  - nextparadigms 15y ago
    If you get value from all those countries, then why not? Nobody is forcing you to get patent in each and every one of those country, just like you don't have to right now, either.
  - beagle3 15y ago
    Well, it's already prohibitively expensive to get patents all over the world, and -- People keep forgetting that -- a patent is an offensive measure - it gives you the right to sue and litigate, but not much else! If you don't have the money to litigate, your patent is already worthless. In some countries, litigation is cheap; but in the US, you need $200k-$500k available to have a chance to enforce your patents. Applying for a multiple jurisdiction patent (in e.g. US, Europe and japan - which for example still doesn't let you enforce in Russia, Mexico and Switzerland) already costs upward of $50k
    - DrJokepu 15y ago
      This might be true for patents, but don't forget that copyright is (mostly) free. If any band, indie developer, unsuccessful writer and amateur photographer would have to pay such large fees for simply owning their works, what would happen?
      - beagle3 15y ago
        They simply declare them worth zero for the year, and pay nothing. They still own the copyright. And if 5 years down the line, they realize someone else is making a profit of it, they declare a reasonable value at the end of that year, pay the tax, and collect their fees (through court or otherwise).

noonespecial 15y ago

The ability to sue. No tax to America, no suit in American court

beagle3 15y ago
Exactly. Also, no customs & border enforcement against trademark / copyright / whatever infringement. Louis Vitton didn't pay IP tax ? They don't get to stop knock offs from being imported. Align value with cost - that's the way to properly allocate resources.
DrJokepu 15y ago
So, assuming that such a system was adopted worldwide, you would have to pay a tax in every country of the world if you wanted your IP to be enforceable in all territories? Because if that's the case, owning IP will be so prohibitively expensive that only large corporations will be able to afford it. I'm not sure if that would be a good thing.
- nextparadigms 15y ago
  If you get value from all those countries, then why not? Nobody is forcing you to get patent in each and every one of those country, just like you don't have to right now, either.
- beagle3 15y ago
  Well, it's already prohibitively expensive to get patents all over the world, and -- People keep forgetting that -- a patent is an offensive measure - it gives you the right to sue and litigate, but not much else! If you don't have the money to litigate, your patent is already worthless. In some countries, litigation is cheap; but in the US, you need $200k-$500k available to have a chance to enforce your patents. Applying for a multiple jurisdiction patent (in e.g. US, Europe and japan - which for example still doesn't let you enforce in Russia, Mexico and Switzerland) already costs upward of $50k
  - DrJokepu 15y ago
    This might be true for patents, but don't forget that copyright is (mostly) free. If any band, indie developer, unsuccessful writer and amateur photographer would have to pay such large fees for simply owning their works, what would happen?
    - beagle3 15y ago
      They simply declare them worth zero for the year, and pay nothing. They still own the copyright. And if 5 years down the line, they realize someone else is making a profit of it, they declare a reasonable value at the end of that year, pay the tax, and collect their fees (through court or otherwise).