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Tradewar

JACK_MA

Looking Around
24/6/17
4
0
0
Gents, as you may know, US is accusing China for stealing intellectual property and China's defense is that they have been doing enforcement rampantly. Would like to know how do the gentlemen here who potentially benefit from replicas feel about this? Should the manufacturers stop copying? Or heavily punished ?

Appreciate your opinion.

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elconquistador

Put Some Respect On My Name
Certified
10/6/10
3,109
440
83
Sure, China and other countries have been stealing US and other countries intellectual property, but that plays a very small role in this "trade war". I would challenge the instigator of the trade war to give one actual example of the theft of US IP by China, there are many, but he could not name a single one.

Also the targets are not just China but every other country that trades with the US with the exception of Russia. Mostly our long term allies such as Canada and Germany who do not steal our IP, but they are on the list.

This it is red meat for the base that have nostalgic memories of working in mines and factories making low skilled products that are no longer made here and won't be regardless of the outcome of this. But I am happy to know that my tax dollars will go to bail out those industries that were retaliated against.
 

pfrist

Horology Curious
19/7/18
15
24
0
It's probably important to separate the IP aspect from the trade war in general, not only because IP enforcement was almost assuredly an after-the-fact justification that played a negligible role in the decision process to set the global market back almost 100 years, but because IP enforcement and infringement is a nuanced and complex topic that merits a conversation in its own right.

All things being equal, behind a veil of ignorance, yes, people probably shouldn't steal the ideas of others and profit off of their work. But this is more important in the context of true intellectual property (patents) in the areas of technology, programming and medicine as opposed to softer IP (trademarks) in terms of manufacturing and product design. Theft of IP and process for beneficial items that require a huge sunk cost to develop, such as medicine or computer programs creates a very real risk of chilling development. Why invest all of this money and effort into creating a useful drug or product if someone can just come along and sell that product as if it was theirs? It offends our sense of fairness if a lone game developer, who spent three years toiling away to create his magnum opus, can't make any money off of it because someone else copies the code and sells it for proceeds with impunity. There are counterarguments to be sure, i.e., the free flow of ideas to benefit a greater number of people than otherwise, but the free-rider problem is significant.

Reps, on the other hand, exist in this weird little zone of reality in that they don't compete much if at all with the established brand. Someone that pirates a $10 movie might very well have paid that to see that movie; most people who buy a $200 replica wouldn't have bought the $10,000 gen. And further, owning the rep might even make it more likely that the owner purchases a gen down the line--it isn't an alternative so much as it is a separate product. This is all shooting from the hip, but I think that the existence of good reps offends Rolex's sense of exclusivity and eltism rather than their bottom line.

Would be interested to hear other people's thoughts.
 

fafri

Horology Curious
20/9/17
16
1
0
Trade war has almost no link with intelectual property steal
 

nalomb

Be Excellent
6/8/12
3,563
625
113
Trade war has almost no link with intelectual property steal

Exactly -- construction materials, skilled manufacturing and tech jobs are the focus.

The US has not had a vibrant horology economy in many years, if ever (depending on who you ask). Most of these goods are sourced in Europe anyway and there is little impact on the US if they are made in China. There could be a case made that relaxing tariffs/import duties on luxury goods from the UK, Switzerland, France, Italy and Germany would include greater counterfeit good enforcement from the US as a trade-off, but to date, that discussion has yet to be explicitly stated in the public sphere ...
 

SeabassofTerror

Looking Around
12/9/17
4
3
3
Exactly -- construction materials, skilled manufacturing and tech jobs are the focus.

The US has not had a vibrant horology economy in many years, if ever (depending on who you ask). Most of these goods are sourced in Europe anyway and there is little impact on the US if they are made in China. There could be a case made that relaxing tariffs/import duties on luxury goods from the UK, Switzerland, France, Italy and Germany would include greater counterfeit good enforcement from the US as a trade-off, but to date, that discussion has yet to be explicitly stated in the public sphere ...

BUT SHINOLA!!!

(Insert all of the sarcasm, yes, all of it.)

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tripdog

Super Moderator
Staff member
Global Moderator
Certified
9/7/12
22,489
17,779
113
Shinola as the prime example American-made, artesanal, horology products.

Or this :


INFORMAL•US
used as a euphemism for ‘shit’.
"there'll be the same old Shinola on television"




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