We have an example most readers here are familiar with: the US ignored European (mostly British) intellectual property when they were developing and now they produce more innovation than any European country. Germany, Switzerland, and Italy also ignored patents for a while and now they are power houses when it comes to pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
> the US ignored European (mostly British) intellectual property when they were developing and now they produce more innovation than any European country.
There's this common trope, but there's two parts to IP; infringement and enforcement.
The British didn't enforce their patents. They could have, but they didn't.
