I respectfully disagree that “this entire thread is off-topic”. While a few posts - including some of mine, unfortunately - lack a direct mention of or ‘nexus’ to railroading, for the most part the posts of this thread have been about the allegations of the Chinese improperly copying other countries’ manufacturer’s HSR train designs. It’s not rivet-counting, paint schemes, or old No. 97, but it is trains and railroading.
Unless, of course, the subject of any Chinese improprieties is somehow “off-limts”, that is . . . [:-^]
I stand corrected. Only ten of the 20 posts since the first are totally off-topic. Some are neutral, less than 1/2 relate to the pirating of HSR designs (primarily from Siemens, BTW, obviously none from the US).
China does not have a monopoly on patent infringement. It is just that they do not have to answer for it legally because they have not entered any agreement to do so. You can’t enforce a claim of infringement against China. But there is plenty of patent infringement in other countries, including the U.S. Your patent is only as strong as your financial commitment to defend it in court. Otherwise, if it is valuable, there will be a crowd of people and corporations who will steal it in a heartbeat. Despite the fact that it seems so objective, a patent is a fleeting and subjective thing. Even the patent office will evaluate a patent capriciously. If you could run the same application through the patent office ten times, you would get ten different results.
Doesn’t the experience of the Russians when their front line fighter was licensed to the Chinese for assembly from Russian made components directly speak to the wisdom of US companies such as General Electric who have agreed to Chinese assembly of their locomotives? It seems to me to be nearly an exact parallel.
Put plainly, is GE selling the rope with which they will be hung?
Probably the reason why GE has partnered with Kazahkstan to produce GE locomotives for the Eurasian market. The Kazahks are less likely to steal the designs, and can compete on costs.
A small Engineering company in the town I live in specializes in reverse-engineering for the US military. They reproduce specialized parts to keep US equipment operating where the OEM no longer makes replacement parts and the original jigs and fixtures have been scrapped.
If so, they (GE) have been hanging for about 30 years…The current issue of TRAINS has a long article about EMD where the question of Chinese reverse engineering of the 265H engine is raised, Electro-Motive is taking the position that as of now, the Chinese are not able to clone it effectivly…
I noted it too and read it as complacency, if they mean it seriously. More likely the Chinese mean to offer something with 75% of the quality at 40% of the price. A locomotive like this would be highly competitive in emerging economies. Later, as they gain experience, they would move up the food chain.
On the other hand, there is an article on Newswire this week describing how the Chinese and GE have formed a joint venture to produce HSR vehicles for California and more conventional trains for use elsewhere. While I seem to remember the current Chinese high speed is German in origin, I would think the Chinese are bringing more experience to the table than is GE.