Every once in a while, the Chinese government likes to reinvent the wheel. Not literally the wheel, but something already invented, which they would prefer not paying royalty fees for. China has a massive nuclear research institute largely dedicated to creating technology to replace what it buys from Areva and Westinghouse. China’s mobile phone providers delayed the roll out of 3G service so that they could launch the locally developed TD-SCDMA system. Other follies include a home-grown DVD codec, and of course AVIC, the state-run airline manufacturer.
It’s easy to scoff at these efforts whenever they pop-up. None of them have produced an internationally competitive product, and literally billions of dollars have gone to waste. We are, to a point, laughing at ourselves though, as these instances a reflection of a fundamental failure of the international patenting system, that has slowed down innovation where we need it the most. International progress developing low-cost medical care, clean energy and bringing consumer goods to the poor has often depended on not only moving goods across borders, but building innovation networks across borders. Something which conflicting and over-burdening patent laws have made progressively more difficult.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Lauching the (International) innovation renaissance
