Hot Property: The Stealing of Ideas in an Age of Globalization

by Pat Choate

Book Overview

The problem of pirating and counterfeiting has grown from small-scale imitations of Levi's jeans and Zippo lighters to a phenomenon that costs the United States an estimated $200 billion dollars per... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375402128
• ISBN13: 9780375402128
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.1" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Bingo!

I treasure Dr. Pat Choates new title (book). It is an easy read and a total epiphany. I thought I totally knew the negative side of so-called free trade and after perusing HOT PROPERTY I realized I knew little. Dr. Choate not only pinned down the significance of intellectual property (new ideas product-wise and the intangible, such as music, books, trademarks, software, methods, processes, and so forth) that stimulates our economy, but also makes clear how Japan in particular has bought off disloyal former D.C. government agents of all descriptions(Congressional staff, legislators, etc.)who have helped Japanese cartels steal the ideas as their own possession. A recent e-mailed question from me to Dr. Choate regarding China's emerging roll as an economic power vis-a-vis Japan's theft of our (US) intellectual property produced the following reply from Professor Choate: "The Japanese hold on the US economy by stealing our intellectual property is tighter now than ever. They now hold almost $1 trillion in federal securities, have a massive trade surplus with us -- far more than the $70 billion or so reported, because much of the China, Thailand, Mexico, etc., trade surpluses are from Japanese companies in those countries. Plus, the Japanese continue to hire our ex-officials on a wholesale basis. The Japanese are so involved with us it is as though they were co-directors of our government." Read HOT PROPERTY and discover for yourself the wholesale theft of America's intellectual property that is all but destroying America's economic prowess and motivation to create new ideas that lead to innovation and economic stimulation.

Especially recommended for its ethical, moral and wide-ranging social issues application

Hot Property: The Stealing Of Ideas In An Age Of Globalization is especially recommended for its ethical, moral and wide-ranging social issues application. The problem of pirating and counterfeiting has been magnified with online availability making it a cinch to steal artistic and scientific creations: a habit which is draining our core economy, maintains author Pat Choate. Hot Property provides both a history of intellectual property conflicts and copyright, and a link between copyright issues and a healthy American economy.

Important Book

As an attorney who practices intellectual property law, I read a lot of trade books that involve this issue. Considering the wide spectrum of views on intellectual property rights, it is no surprise that the category as a whole encompasses very different positions on how much protection intellectual property deserves and how best to protect it. The two major strengths of this book are its well articulated viewpoints and the strong writing. I was more than pleasantly surprised when I discovered that the book was not going to be a dry academic tome but instead incorporates about 200 years of the history of global intellectual property theft and enforcement that helps you place the issues in context with real-world events. The book mostly covers patent issues and presents cause for concern about the risk of the United States shifting into decline as it loses both the fruits of its inventiveness and the intellectual capital to sustain it. The only part I did not like was the last twenty to thirty pages which takes an anti-copyright view that favors restricted rights and enhanced bureaucratic formalities to maintain them. Irrespective of whether you agree with the author, this is an important book and one of the better written ones on the subject.

Blew me Away

I sort of expected "Hot Property" to be another stuffy business book. However, I could not put the book down when I began to read it. It was great! Mr. Choate provides great insight into the creation and growth of IP law. Colorful stories about inventors make it an entertaining book and the strategies revealed and used by Japan and China have really opened my eyes. This is a very timely book and ties in with many of the current news stories on China's attempt to buy, steal and appropriate intellectual property from every corner of the world. If you are an inventor, company CEO or anyone dealing with IP, "Hot Property" is essential reading.

It's Hotter than Hot

Choate has taken Intellectual Property, what normally would be a mundane subject, and elevated it to a riveting saga of the our history and evolution of this body of law. In and extremely balanced fashion, he deals with abuses we incurred to the intellectual property of others as well as violations of the rights of US entrepreneurs and inventors. Choate provides example after example of how our laws were developed as well as how numerous prolific individuals like Whitney, Bell, Edison both benefited and suffered in the intellectual property game. He also documents that tactics and strategies employed first by corporations and recently by nations to inappropriately capture, control, and exploit the innovation, creativity and intellectual resources of others. It is a fascinating work filled with new and startling information that I found my self unable to put down. It is easy and enjoyable to read. It is must reading for every corportate executive responsible for the intellectual property of his/her company and it is must reading for every law maker across the nation!!