Letters To
The Editor
Opinions reader Chris Harvey took
exception to my article on Microsoft Battles the EC on IP.
Referencing my statement that "The
U.S. government is ... unhappy that the EC has exceeded the U.S.
rulings against Microsoft, in spite of U.S. government
recommendations to the contrary," he commented:
Do you, and other Americans, realize the
arrogance of this statement? It is interesting to note that you do
not include the implications of this in your "some issues to
consider" list.
On the same tack, the vast majority of
U.S. companies are getting 'irritated' that the Chinese are not
rolling over for them to move into the China market. And yet, I
rarely see any mention by U.S. commentators of the main issue here
for the Chinese (less so for the EU); that of the inability to do
business the Chinese (and European) way. Quite frankly, this
arrogance just pisses people off.
Here's a test: Review Superman's
statement in the first Superman film, where he states that he stands
for "Truth, Justice, and the American way". If you see the
problem with this statement (in a global context) then there is hope
for U.S. business interests overseas; if you do not...
What do you think?
Regards
Christopher Harvey
Zara Technology Pte Ltd
Singapore
And my reply:
Chris, I am sorry if my article about MS
and the EC offended you. I
meant the sentence exactly as it read.
That is, the US government was unhappy.
I am not sure that the EC has chosen
effective remedies but I do not at all feel that they are not
entitled to enforce their rules in their territory.
Global markets require global marketing
knowledge. Americans
can't be successful in Europe -- or Asia -- unless they market there
with full knowledge of the regulatory, business, and cultural
environment.
The problem may be that we need global
rules for companies that are global in their scope -- enforcing
different rules in every region may simply prove inefficient and
counterproductive. This
is particularly true because of the Internet.
The EC can order Microsoft to sell different versions of its
software, but it would be hard to prevent someone from one place
from ordering a version intended for another locale via the
omnipresent Internet.
Amy Wohl
As always, we solicit readers’
comments. Write to Amy Wohl
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