[jhc]

I like the list of strategies, but I have to question calling any one of them "The Chinese Way." I mean, here in the US, companies leapfrog, piggyback, and copy all the time -- often within the same product. So you might as well call it all "The American Way." With the size and diversity of the tech industries in Japan, China, and India, we can probably assume they're using The American Way too. Which I think is great (the occasional bit of outright plagiarism aside).

[jff]

Well, plenty of American companies copy, producing essentially the same product with their own name on it, often trying to make it look similar to the original--I'm thinking of store-brand food here, "Mountain W" soda from Wegmans for example. The Chinese methods of copying typically seem more deceptive; "Somy" and "Sarnsung" electronics for example, although sometimes the cloners just throw on the "real" name anyway. Of course, this becomes easier when all these companies do their manufacturing in China anyway, and it just takes an unscrupulous manufacturer to make an extra run to sell as "knock-offs". Oh, and there's always this hilarious story: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/01/technology/01pirate.html

I do agree though that the American way is basically to do whatever you need to make a good profit, be it coming up with the next great product (the iPod), ride along with a great product (the companies that make iPod docks/sleeves/cables/whatever), or copy a great product (Zune, and didn't that turn out well?). I just think the American copies are slightly more ethical than some of the Chinese ones.