> Historically, strong international IP protection only becomes extra important once you are an a big established incumbent rather than a developing upstart country.
The theft of IP in a less interconnected age with different IP laws, at a smaller scale? If it was good enough for the British and the Americans, why not a policy from the top down for the Chinese in the modern age?
It would explain what China is doing in Africa, and their treatment of African immigrants in China during the pandemic. Colonialism was OK back then too! And many countries did it! Why not a more modern take by China [1]?
1 - https://thediplomat.com/2020/11/is-china-a-new-colonial-powe...
And America didn't respect British copyright either. Charles Dickens was a bestselling author in 19th century America but didn't make any money from it because American publishers pirated his books -- and it was legal. Dickens eventually did a couple of tours of America where people paid for tickets to see and hear him read from his books because that was the only way he could monetize his American popularity.
It worked for Hollywood too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Patents_Company...
There is a sort of lived-truth here, that innovative upstarts are generally going to be in opposition to IP laws rather than in favour of it. Laws generally favours established players with money, lawyers and political contacts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Slater
" In the UK, he was called "Slater the Traitor"[2] and "Sam the Slate" because he brought British textile technology to the United States, modifying it for American use. He stole the textile factory machinery designs as an apprentice to a pioneer in the British industry before migrating to the United States at the age of 21. He designed the first textile mills in the US and later went into business for himself, developing a family business with his sons. He eventually owned thirteen spinning mills and had developed tenant farms and company towns around his textile mills, such as Slatersville, Rhode Island."
Historically, strong international IP protection only becomes extra important once you are an a big established incumbent rather than a developing upstart country.