Erupting from the mind are often debates of challenges and issues plaguing mankind. Caught up in the sound and fury you can hear folks get worked up, by the mass media hysteria as they spar with jaded opinions jousting one another. Of course at the Online Think Tank cooler heads prevail and indeed the topics are highly intellectual spanning subjects in nearly every domain.

Recently the topic came up with regards to patent piracy of Computer Software and Hardware. One Think Tanker asked in so many words; Is Silicon Valley Over Charging for The Products They Produce?

Well, in a way they are over charging, so that all the players get paid; R and D, Venture Capitalists, Entrepreneurs and workers with a outrageous cost of living there (micro-economic disaster). But remember the costs to produce technology. If you do not have to pay for the R and D and steal it for free then you can have zero-royalties and/or the whole price to the retailer.

Not just the incidental component price you were contracted to make. (of course we are talking computer technology types). But the Chinese are also stealing other technologies like Laser, Military, Satellite, missile, space, submarine, biotech, nanotech, etc. It poses a grave threat not only economically.

Although my uncles produce and manufacture high-tech stuff there, it is not conducive to profitability wise. They grew up there, Stanford Grads; grandfather was a Stanford scientist. The costs in the valley just do not work and much has to do with the bay and the layout, without concentric rings around the area, the darn bay is in the way. Look at a map and the population and you can see why economically it is an inefficient area to for labor draw. Robotics only partially solve this issue and real-estate is another huge deal.

Indeed although I realize these comments are not part of this conversation; Silicon Valley is set up very poorly land use wise and it is not spread out like a Houston, LA or Kansas City. Cost of living is a big factor. So Silicon Valley with limited space (Bay and Mountains) is a victim of its own success.

To us they are overcharging, to them they are mass producing and offering a fair price, due to their artificially increased prices. That said, it does not justify stealing by the Chinese and then capitalizing on their thievery of intellectual property. I certainly hope that this article is of interest to you in 2007.