dear all, http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2003/11/16/rtr1149631.html
interesting article on US to press China on intellectual property, farm issues. why? 'Bush administration is under pressure to trim the United States' huge trade deficit with China, which totaled a record $103 billion last year and is projected to hit $120 billion this year.' my favourite quote: "America's manufacturers, entertainers, engineers and scientists continue to lead the world in innovation and creativity. It is absolutely critical that their legal rights to their inventions, brand names and product reputations are respected and protected by our trading partners," you know, i have been doing this thought experiment for the past three weeks, and wish to share it with you all: what would happen if china suddenly woke up one day, discovered that many discoveries and inventions of the world today, from gunpowder, paper, wind sails, silk, and several across all disciplines of arts and science, actually originated in china? what if china decides to pass *new laws* that state any invention or discovery, created by china in the past 2,500 years, is the intellectual property of china. that china has the legal and fundamental right to protect its indigenous knowledge and processes to atleast 5,000 years after its creation. that this time-period is appropriate given that china, unlike other civilizations of the world, is really among the oldest so it needs its own time-frame. that *any* country or organization found violating the IP of china must either cease and desist, or pay a license to continue using it. think this through from a completely chinese point-of-view. from the other side of the wall. to counter-balance this, what if india wakes up later, and passes similar laws as well? okay, this is just my thought experiment. but i often find myself pondering this koan rather deeply. :-| LL _______________________________________________ ilugd mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/ilugd
