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Comment by FreshFries | Hacker News Reader

I do not know why you are down voted... I have seen Huawei from the inside and the number of devs and first grade researchers is staggering.

The researchers get payed very well, but what (to those I met) was even more important: they get all the assistance they want, plus 1. As one of them told me "I hate doing things twice. I now do not have to. I think of something, try to get it to work and I am done. The grinding is done for me." A truly very nice environment to do research in, with a boatload of resources at their fingertips.

Just check the number of patents Huawei [0] holds.

[0] https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1194023.shtml

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Yeah, there were some interesting talks at FOSDEM by Huawei researchers, e.g.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuFnRg8TH-k

Seems ironic for a Chinese tech organization to hold boatloads of patents...

It's well-known that China is very serious about IPs. At least to people actually paying attention to Chinese domestic policies.

A lot of Chinese firms knowingly violates IP laws in the past, because they understand there is not enough resources to enforce them. Additionally, Chinese government has been very open about the plan to enforce IP laws gradually to the same standard as the global market. A good balance has been played to allow rapid advancement without provoking the more advanced economies.

What would you point to as a sign that they take foreigners' IP seriously?

> It's well-known that China is very serious about IPs.

> Chinese government has been very open about the plan to enforce IP laws gradually to the same standard as the global market.

IMHO, these two statements contradict themselves.

that doesn't mean it's not a good strategy - acquire IP for self, ignore IP of others until everything is in place.

IIRC in terms of patent fees: China is massive net importer: $6 in patent fees for every $1 they receive, US is opposite, massive net exporter. Hence Chinese drive to build / buy domestic patent portfolio and slowly implementing IP standards until they can play the same crooked IP extraction game.

IP is a means of commercializing intellectual achievements. It's not noble in that it protects people actually doing the work, most patent owners get them from coauthors of the patent, and has very low degree of moral assessment value. Indeed, most innovative corps today are the pioneers of only use patent as defensive measure (Google Tesla).

Being serious about IP is to respect a rule of game, and not actually enforce it is out of necessity (are you expecting a sweat shop to actually pay loyalty and produces actual profit?) and actual recognition that building up the mechanisms of innovation will take time.

It makes sense when you consider that patents nowadays are more like ammo to start/settle potential lawsuits with, rather than about actual protection of IP.

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