[blocked_again]

Why does it matter? In grand scheme of things there are now more people who have access to cheaper and efficent cleaning systems.

All companies are reverse engineering the Universe anyway. It's not like you build these technologies out of thin air.

[knodi123]

Why does large-scale corporate IP theft matter? Well, for one thing, I can't imagine the next Neato being willing to invest in all that R&D if a chinese company is going to rip it off and sell it for peanuts, just so the internet can say "wow, this chinese product is amazing, and I don't know why corporate IP theft matters!"

[brandon272]

The risk of someone ripping off your idea, designs, etc. has always existed, exists now more than ever with the internet, yet it doesn’t seem to stop people with ideas from trying to take those ideas to fruition.

I’ve never talked to any rational person with an idea they were passionate about who said they weren’t interested in continuing with it because someone else might steal it.

[powerhour]

The only reason engineers in the US adopted "clean rooms" was to circumvent copyright law, not because they simply weren't willing to copy IP from their competitors. US companies still invested heavily in R&D. Maybe Chinese companies will do the same?

[cortesoft]

Chinese companies have been stealing IP like this for decades, and companies are still doing R&D, so clearly it hasn’t stopped anything yet.

[blocked_again]

It's a free market. There are plenty of companies investing in R&D even after knowing that there is the possibility of copyright infringement. There is still a huge upside in developing these tech.

[jker]

Please spend the next year doing a bunch of free engineering and design work for me, thanks in advance.

[blocked_again]

The companies knew that copyright infringement is a possibility when developing the tech. They knew the reward was still worth it despite of that.

I am not getting anything designing work for you. On the other hand I can launch my own side projects. I know that if they are any good people are going to copy and start rip offs. I am willing to take that risk.

[cscurmudgeon]

Why does it matter in the grand scheme of things to point out stolen tech?