IP Laws Found Harmful

Hal Varian (yeah, the guy who wrote your college econ textbook) writes a piece for NYT explaining how having no IP laws has actually been beneficial for the fashion industry. Particularly relevant now as the US hammers China on its "weak" IP protection. Lost in the debate is whether the firms that are clamoring for legislation are actually providing products that are valuable (by that I mean have a good cost to value ratio) to the consumers in China. Most people in Asia are not likely to drop $25 for a DVD when they make a hundred dollars a month - no matter how many laws you pass and how many illegal DVD sniffing dogs you train.