Isn’t his proposal to fix it basically just modern China?
Isn’t his proposal to fix it basically just modern China?
Posted May 29, 2025 14:01 UTC (Thu) by psadauskas (subscriber, #46534)Parent article: Cory Doctorow on how we lost the internet
> What would be better is for the countries to break the monopolies of the US tech giants by making it legal to reverse-engineer, jailbreak, and modify American products and services. Let companies jailbreak Teslas and deliver all of the features that ship in the cars, but are disabled by software, for one price;
Isn’t that basically China? Zero regard for IP law, so they clone any interesting and useful thing and sell it? Like the US at the turn of the last century (1900s), if you had an interesting idea for a bicycle or automobile, in any decent sized-town there’d be a dozen machine or tool-and-die shops that could make it for you. Now, if you have an idea for a gadget with an OLED screen and Bluetooth, any city in China will have a dozen electronics factories that can make it, plastic enclosure included.
Posted May 29, 2025 16:03 UTC (Thu)
by Wol (subscriber, #4433)
[Link]
Actually, from what I can make out, they have a LOT of regard for IP law. They just BUY any interesting thing, and then sell it.
> Like the US at the turn of the last century (1900s)
I think you're a century too early. That era only came to a nominal close with Berne (the US joined in the 1980s?) and Lemuelson (again the 1980s?) who made a career copying Edison. Who's patent claiming to invent the lightbulb post-dated a visit to a lightbulb factory !!!
Cheers,
Isn’t his proposal to fix it basically just modern China?
Wol