Some strategy I can think of: be the first to market, market yourself as the original creator, constant innovating, other people can copy but they can't control the updates and product roadmap, and you have the advantage of intimate knowledge of the product.
Another strategy is to create personalized custom solution. This would be hard to copy, unless you can copy the creator brain.
its pathetic because its a disingenuous argument offered to prop up the side of the oppressor. the type of business scenario you describe is an edge case, and you are arguing as if it were the only case.
In Canada, in high school, we learned about Sam Slater. He is affectionately known as the father of the American factory system, but in Britain he was known as 'Slater the traitor', because he built the American factory system using stolen IP. Has nobody here heard of this guy?
Beyond it being 200+ years ago - it was one guy, not state sponsored, who remembered things he saw...versus whole scale theft of documents, designs, blueprints and other IP byproducts. I hate to say it but I can't believe you are making this argument in good faith.
It was actually pretty standard. Even in the mid 19th century when Charles Dickens visited America to a rapturous welcome he pointed out that he didn't earn a penny from American sales of his work. America only started to recognise foreign copyright holders in 1891.
Yes, that is what you said, and I think it is quite wrong. Being the original creator doesn't mean much when others can copy your design and not pay any of the costs associated with developing it in the first place.
Personalized solutions might work for some products but not for others.
It is pathetic because it treats illegal behavior as if it you are powerless to stop it. It would be like if your house kept getting broken into, and someone gave you advice to stop owning things, instead of say putting up security cameras, strengthening the locks on your door, or buying a gun or guard dog. I can only imagine you've never created a single thing in your life if you think that other people automatically have a right to take whatever you do and do whatever they want with it.
"Adapt or be left behind"...of what? Once people steal the IP, it is unlikely they are going to all of the sudden become great innovators in the field. At best, they are going to just keep producing shitty knock offs until there is no market left for them. In that sense, progress stops because no one will take the effort to build something because someone else can just come along and copy it. So there is no getting left behind. There is just shitty people siphoning off the work of good people and slowing their pace to zero.
How about the adapting is putting sanctions or restrictions on companies that engage in corporate espionage?
I'm really curious what you do for a living, and how you would feel if your work product was just stolen and ripped off and then used to attempt to shut down your living.
>Being the original creator doesn't mean much when others can copy your design and not pay any of the costs associated with developing it in the first place
yes, it doesn't much if you don't know how to monetize it.
>It is pathetic because it treats illegal behavior as if it you are powerless to stop it.
I'm not powerless, I still can make money by employing different strategy and I still have my knowledge.
>and someone gave you advice to stop owning things
I think its still a valid advice.
>progress stops because no one will take the effort to build something because someone else can just come along and copy it.
On the contrary, you always to have be progressing and innovating so that you always one step further than then copier.
What I mean left behind is if one refuse to adapt.
>How about the adapting is putting sanctions or restrictions on companies that engage in corporate espionage
I'm just merely suggesting alternative solution.
≥I'm really curious what you do for a living, and how you would feel if your work product was just stolen and ripped off and then used to attempt to shut down your living
I would be delighted if someone feel my product are important enough or useful enough for some one to copy it.
Like I said before there are strategy for making money that doesn't rely solely on IP
So, you are saying to brand yourself but what stops someone from copying your brand and marketing?
Also, not all business can be personalized solutions (would you want a custom car that no mechanic knows how to fix?), furthermore you lose economies of scale, which is a major reason why most companies are viable outside of tech.
Another strategy is to create personalized custom solution. This would be hard to copy, unless you can copy the creator brain.