Authorship as Proof: Against “Made in China/Vietnam” IP Mimicry
Most people in the East will say, “We just want to learn.” Fine — but what happens after the collectivist learns? Too often: replication, not invention.
And there’s only one real reason to copy: it pays. They’ve opted into the very Western system they claim to resist because it compensates competence better than anything else on Earth - yet no new lanes of opportunity.
The deeper issue is this: copying isn’t flipping the board (no new lanes of opportunity). It’s playing inside someone else’s ruleset — safely, predictably, and without consequence.
I’m not interested in that lane.
I can flip the board.
I have flipped the board — in the hardest, most competitive market in the world.
That’s why my sympathy for imitation culture is basically zero.
Discussion about this post
No posts
Solid framing on the replication versus innovation problem. The point about playing inside someone else's ruleset without consequence captures what most IP discussions miss completely. I've watched entire industries in Asia move from pure copying to hybrid models where they iterate just enough to claim innovation but still ride on proven Western frameworks. The real question isnt whether copying pays (obviously does short-term) but whether it builds long-term competitive moats.