[pm90]

This is kinda distressing. I'm mostly all for free trade, but the impression I have is that Chinese competitors undercut Ericcson by not paying for patents. If that is the case, would it make sense to sanction those Chinese companies that do it, and thus take their products off the market in the developed countries? (Please correct me if my assumptions are wrong)

[thephyber]

I don't disagree with China playing fast and loose with IP, but those actions wouldn't happen in a vaccuum.

China has WTO trade laws that protect them until a court case makes the connection between intentional IP violations and the unfair trade competition. Even after that is established (which can take many years), China can assert a counter-action using WTO rules to find whatever trade laws those same western+developed countries are violating.

Steve Bannon just talked about this in an unscripted interview for a newspaper. If it happens, pain will ratchet up for everyone involved. It will take a decade or more for all of the ripples of this type of trade war to calm. Until then, ratcheting up of tariffs will make it far more expensive to live in any country involved.

[jamesblonde]

Huwawei opened a large office (about 1K workers) here in Kista beside Ericsson's global headquarters - obviously to pinch workers/IP. I can't imagine the Chinese tolerating Ericsson opening a large office beside Huwawei's HQ!

[Danihan]

Of course, and this is exactly why tariffs exist, to level the playing field.

Otherwise whatever country has the most lax regulation and labor laws wins.

[thephyber]

> Of course, and this is exactly why tariffs exist, to level the playing field.

Tariffs can be used for this purpose, but they traditionally weren't used to "level the playing field". They were traditionally used to benefit local goods over imported goods. The history of the US and England are rife with counterexamples of "level playing field" tariffs.

[stale2002]

Ehh, Erixxson's loss is the consumer's gain.

Patent law is far overreaching in both breadth and length. Anything that undercuts it is a good thing.

[pm90]

I agree patent laws are abused/overused (cough cough Qualcomm) but the solution is not to get rid of them altogether, but to reform them to make them more sensible.

In any case, I think right now Ericsson definitely needs to assume that Chinese will use their technology at some point and plan for that contingency.