From: btlee@emx.cc.utexas.edu (Byungtae Lee)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.korean
Subject: Re:copyright
Date: 28 Jan 93 07:49:59 GMT
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
NNTP-Posting-Host: emx.cc.utexas.edu


 jgl7@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu (Andrew T. Kim) wrote:
> 
> There is a difference between copying and imitating.  You may learn
> something out of imitating, but blatant copying does not help anything.
> You need some kind of protection, and Korea hardly has any.

    For me, the distiction between two of you concepts is not clear.
    Maybe you are talking about only software copy using command "copy".
    Let say if I steal the drawings of new automobile design and am trying to
    produce new car, still cann't I learn anything?
    Do you ignore copying is the most cheap economic decision even though
    it is not ethical or legal sometimes? Because it's free.
    Now we do not have pirate versions of foreign books in Korea (Some
    netters may remeber "TAP Press" (tower press) in old good days.)
    Why do you say Korea hardly has any?    

> You are asking government to be rational. :) 
> Korean policy makers are not known for their long-term view.

    OK. Let me try the role of devil advocate again. What's your bases for
    this judgement on Korean policy makers?  If you buy the economical
     achievement of Korea, how can we say so?  Well if you insist that we
    should have done better, then I will withdraw the above question.

> [Side Note:  This is off the topic, and you probably know it too, but it is
> not that easy to measure the investment value of computer systems.  You
> have to take various costs for new professionals, educations etc into account

    I just list the minimum explicit costs of IT investment and even with
    such minimum costs, I showed how difficult it is for Korean MISers to
    defend their profession.  BTW, I am still working on this damn "business
    value of Information Technology investment.:-)  

> Well, it worked for *you* and saved your money, so it's fine with me, but I
> cannot agree it helped Korean economy.  

    Well, as a matter of fact, it did not save my money, but did my company's
    money. As an employee, I was not in charge of Korean Economy but was
    in charge of my company's MIS.  You maybe are talking about "longer
    effect of my "anti-entrepreneual" decision. But isn't it also true
    way that Capitalism works? i.e., the most efficient economic behavior of
    individual companies gives the leading edge to whole national economy. 

> First of all, how much IBM charges for their service is their problem.  If
> I were IBM, I will try to charge as much as I possibly could.  

   The same logic goes for customers. I will try to pay as least as I can.  

> The problem
> is the lack of competition that would have created a fair market.  It is
> understandable that Korean government has been loose about it, because
> Korean companies are not strong enough to compete with such big companies,
> but it should really be controlled through Trade Laws, Anti-Trust Laws or
> something like that.  

    Then how about the pressure from foreign government of those powerful
    companies?

> They probably wanted to keep you happy so that they can sell you more
> computers in the future.

    Sure, that's way the business deals work. Wasn't it my bargaining power?

> Andy Kim
> 
    Thank you for good discussion.  I mean it.

Byungtae Lee (btlee@emx.cc.utexas.edu)  
Tel. 512)471-1679(O), 478-3779(H)  Fax. 512) 471-0587
------------------------------------------------------


-- 
Byungtae Lee (btlee@emx.cc.utexas.edu)  
Tel. 512)471-1679(O), 478-3779(H)  Fax. 512) 471-0587
------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: soc.culture.korean