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Traditionally, there is no such thing as "stealing knowledge", and to the extreme, there is old saying about stealing books is not real theft. IP law was enact
by analyst74 12y ago
Traditionally, there is no such thing as "stealing knowledge", and to the extreme, there is old saying about stealing books is not real theft.
IP law was enacted quite recently, heck, even the rule of law itself (as opposed to rule of men) was fairly recent transformation of the society. I feel this wikipedia entry describe it fairly well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_culture#Chinese_legal_culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_culture#Chinese_legal_cu....
So yes, IP and patents carry no where near the level of respect as United States or similar countries.
- jobu 12y agoThere was a great article on Ars Technica years ago (decade+) that talked about weak property law in general and intellectual property in particular being a necessary part for developing countries to succeed. As they grow the value of all property increases to the point where property law becomes much more important and strict. It was a really good read, but it doesn't seem to be available online anymore. Also, from the article: "In the 1870s, American textile companies would send employees to work in British factories. They would take notes on textile equipment and bring back the information. The Russians and East Germans stole U.S. computer and chip designs during the Cold War."
- rayiner 12y agoIP law of some form has existed about as long as the technology to engage in mass copying has existed. The idea that it's wrong to steal other peoples' ideas is not just something you have to be a lawyer to appreciate. One of my family friends is a musician, and I was surprised that when I talked to him recently (after many years), he expressed concern about how easy the internet is making it to rip off peoples' work.