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The paper's author, Höffner, names the fragmented German states as the reason IP claims (in this case copyright) was so difficult to enforce. Now we have inter
by gmathews 5y ago
The paper's author, Höffner, names the fragmented German states as the reason IP claims (in this case copyright) was so difficult to enforce.
Now we have international trade agreements enforcing IP in most places. Could this effect partially explain China's rise in tech? They ignored IP for ages.
I mean it's certainly easier to innovate when you're not looking over your shoulder or stopping to ask IP lawyers if they think you've breached anything in trivial parts of your tech.
- inciampati 5y agoIt might, but it needs to be weighed against the active suppression of information flow into the country. I collaborate with researchers in China. They all report that, to search for an access scientific and technical work, they must use a VPN. To make a broad generalization for the sake of argument: in China there are often excellent implementations of contemporary technical ideas. In contrast, there is little true innovation. To me this suggests that communication and interaction are also important parts of the development of societies. The current Chinese model would seem to draw on both the pattern of control by an elite hierarchy seen in 19th c England and the liberal copyright situation of the German states of the same period.
- stkdump 5y agoThey are still playing catch up in many areas. Wait a few more decades, and they are sure to also innovate. Probably China will open up, just like they opened up economically, when it suited them.