知識產權是一種手段，而不是一種道德

 

常常聽人提及要尊重知識產權，用一種道德的口氣來要求人尊守，也許在試著閱讀New York time 2002年出版一篇文章後，會另人有不相同的想法。

New Economy; The intellectual property debate takes a page from 19th-century America

By STEVE LOHR

Published: October 14, 2002

IN the 19th century, the United States was both a rapidly industrializing nation and -- as Charles Dickens, among others, knew all too well -- a bold pirate of intellectual property.

But these days, when it comes to dealing with developing nations around the world, the United States seems to be ignoring its own swashbuckling heritage. 

The global debate over intellectual property rights -- patents, copyrights and trademarks -- is focused mainly on forward-looking industries like computer software, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. But Americans can look back to this nation's 19th-century experience in book publishing, for example, to understand the developing world's viewpoint.

Back then, American law offered copyright protection -- but only to citizens and residents of the United States. The works of English authors were copied with abandon and sold cheap to an American public hungry for books. This so irritated Mr. Dickens -- whose ''Christmas Carol'' sold for 6 cents a copy in America, versus $2.50 in England -- that he toured the United States in 1842, urging the adoption of international copyright protection as being in the long-term interest of American authors and publishers.

美國也曾經是個明目張膽的知識產權海盜國家，於1842年小說家狄更斯的著作“小氣財神”，在美國的盜版書僅賣6美分，而在英國原版書卻要2.5美元。而現在卻以自己的國力要求世界各國制訂修改知識產權的相關法令。

Indeed, the economies that were shining success stories of development, from the United States in the 19th century to Japan and its East Asian neighbors like Taiwan and South Korea in the 20th, took off under systems of weak intellectual property protection. Technology transfer came easily and inexpensively until domestic skills and local industries were advanced enough that stronger intellectual property protections became a matter of self-interest.

【 2022/07/26 更新】

事實上，像十九世紀的美國到二十世紀的日本、及它的東亞鄰居臺灣及南韓，經濟能夠發展亮麗，是靠軟弱無力的知識產權保護所促成的。技術轉讓既容易又便宜，直到國內技能和當地產業足夠先進，以至於加強知識產權保護成為符合自身利益的問題時。