Apple has become the mass culture among us (Steven 2003, p. 53).
We can easily see Apple products on the streets, at home or at work. As the
technologies developed by apple have become a culture, many companies have been
trying to develop products in the same or similar way.
When we talk about Apple’s patents, perhaps many of us may think
of the patent war between Apple and its competitor – Samsung. With the globalization
process, the value of intellectual property has been altered, becoming more
valuable. As the two leading companies in the mobile technology industry, they
have been trying to dominate the industry by suing each other on its design
patents. On the other side, when these two companies are struggling in terms of
its patents, tremendous amount of fake technology products appeared in China.
The entire Europe in fact has been the patent war zone for both
companies, Apple and Samsung, to strike against each other. But why there is no
patent war in China? Tom Doctoroff (cited in Rapoza, 2012) explained it in
quite a clear way. He commented China as ‘the total flip side of the U.S.’
and argued the courts in China have never evolved to protect the intellectual property,
as it is not a cultural value. In such sense, it seems that there are not much
benefits Apple can get from suing China for its patent violations.
The Chinese undoubtedly have the capital and the technology to
produce new innovative products to the global market, but why they never do?
Perhaps lying deep inside the Chinese’s mind, Chinese culture is always
conservative but not innovative.
Reference
Steven, P
2003, ‘Political economy: the howling, brawling, global market place’, The
no-nonsense guide to the global media, New Internationalist, Oxford, pp.
37–59.
Rapoza, K
2012, ‘In China, Why Piracy Is Here To Stay’, Forbes Magazine,
retrieved 4 August 2012, <http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2012/07/22/in-china-why-piracy-is-here-to-stay/ >.
Micgadget 2011, 'AirBook Review', Youtube (Video), retrieved 5 August 2012, <http://www.youtube.com/embed/xb1eDOesRpI>.
Micgadget 2011, 'AirBook Review', Youtube (Video), retrieved 5 August 2012, <http://www.youtube.com/embed/xb1eDOesRpI>.
I thought that the blog flowed very well, the example and idea of Apple and its competition with Samsung worked really well, showing a further understanding of the topic. I think you could have discussed the trademark law as well and try to link it with the Apple trademark. I just think your introduction could have expanded a little bit more; however, your closing paragraph ends the bog quite successfully. Well done!
ReplyDeleteYour blog is very understanding and easy to read. Its great that you used the apple and Samsung example show your understanding of the patent concept but it would have been better if you gave an example of what they are exactly suing each other for? You connected the patent issue very well with china, and as a reader who has been to china, it really gave me the opportunity to think back on my trip and wonder why the Chinese always copy instead of creating their own inventions! Looking forward to next week
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this blog, it was easy to read and comprehend. It was a very well constructed piece that allowed me to further enhance my understanding of the patent concept. Thankyou! Also great example of the rivarlry between samsung and apple, very relateable.
ReplyDeleteYour blog post pointed out some of the points which people are talking about recently: Apple and Samsung’s lawsuit is keep going and it becomes a global issue. But as we think a bit more deeply, those arguments between Samsung and Apple will benefit the users. When they are competing each other, then they will invent more good devices to the users to attract them to buy their products. So it doesn’t affect customers in a negative way. Secondly, I don’t think china is a country of copying. Those are just isolated cases. China is still a creative country. For example the Shanghai TV tower is a unique and famous design in the world.
ReplyDeleteI found this post interesting in that it presents a good idea of how a non-western culture would react to the presence of a western multinational corporation, particularly that of what may as well be a pop culture staple in Apple Inc. I guess it goes to show that in some aspects globalising corporations are not as well received as one may assume. Well done.
ReplyDeleteAwsome blog! A good theme of Chinese technological piracy in terms of international legal ownership. The issue that globalisation creates is the ability to create cheaper copies of these products. When I was in China, I made the mistake of purchasing an ipod. Looked exactly like one, however, when I turned it on it had unusable software settings and I havent been able to use it since. Anyway awesome job, love the link!
ReplyDeleteThis post was very interesting, you gave light to something the majority of us seem to ignore: "The Chinese undoubtedly have the capital and the technology to produce new innovative products to the global market, but why they never do?". I agree that Chinese culture may incline against innovation and and when you linked back to the topic of intellectual property, your justification that China does not consider it a cultural value made me question if I believed the same.
ReplyDeleteYour post was concise and clear and to the point, you made original and understandable arguments. I also liked the video!
Lovely layout of your blog, was easy for me to scan through and understand what you were trying to say within a minute or two and the youtube video was a nice touch. I am actually really interested by the fact that Chinese courts never 'evolved' to protect intellectual property,bewildering considering the amount of knock offs that you will find there.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your post. Its interesting theme and discussion. Yes, it’s true that the two giant mobile company are fighting for the dominant position and the patent in China. From their mobile technologies to the name of ‘iPad’ are all what they fight for in China.
ReplyDeleteFor your last question discussed, I agree with the point you hold, yes, chinese culture is conservative and they lack of creativity. Also, they are not willing to innovate and to explore new things. Because copying other’s work also can bring them a great deal of money and less input in resource.
Thanks for your sharing!
Well done, Dylan.
ReplyDeleteI thought the example of apple developing culture was interesting and is a great example of what this subject is all about. The piece felt scholarly as you used a lot of references which also helped give your argument a tone honesty.
Cheers, Robert.
I found the differences in the way that China and the US look at patents and intellectual property very interesting.
ReplyDeleteMake sure that you are referencing your writing though, for example when you mentioned that Apple and Samsung are suing each other, perhaps link it to an article in The Age or another source to show your point or give readers somewhere else to go for more information if they are interested.
Emily
Well done on the very informative blog post!
ReplyDeleteYou used some great examples and overall the blog was very clear and easy to read. Samsung and Apple certainly have been battling it out for many years however it still seems like Apple are undoubtedly more popular than Samsung products still.
Thanks for the read.