It ultimately doesn't matter much. What matters is that you have the ability to manufacture a product. You can own as much IP as you like, but if you don't have the capability of using that in a production process then it really is the Emperor's New Clothes.

Having the capability is important. Outsourcing has removed the crown jewels from many companies, leaving them little more than marketing shells. The real value is in the technical know-how and skills of the people who actually made those companies run. Without that, there is no company and no product.

Owning the rights to ideas isn't a sustainable future unless you also have the influence or the power to force people to respect your imaginary property.

If ultimately the only thing you end up owning over others is ideas it becomes increasingly attractive simply to opt out of such rights.

They have learnt historical lessons from the USA who stole IP from the U.K.

https://www.apnews.com/b40414d22f2248428ce11ff36b88dc53

There's no inherent scarcity to information. Building your economy on such an assumption is a very shaky foundation to build on.

This is something I wonder about a lot. How long will IP be of value? IP only has value when it is completely secret or when a government enforces the monopoly for the owner. How can we expect governments to agree to enforce these monopolies reciprocally (or at all) as the cost of information copying and distribution continues to plummet? If a big country decided to drop out of the WTO, what would prevent them from just manufacturing anything they want? Would governments erect trade barriers?

..created by chinese phd students

(sorry.. i know its a low-blow :P)