The current indignation of the US authorities about the Chinese disregard of copyrights and patents, reminds me of a bit in the book which was the subject of reference 1, which I forgot to mention.
It seems that at the end of the nineteenth century, theatre producers in the US often pirated shows that had been successful in the UK. UK producers got a bit fed up about this and went to law. According to Hyman, the judge ruled that 'copyright or no copyright, commercial honesty or commercial buccaneering, no Englishman possesses any right which a true born American is bound to respect'.
As it turned out on this particular occasion, the D'Oyly Carte version of the (smash hit) 'Mikado', did very well in the US, piracy notwithstanding.
The US has clearly moved on since.
PS: the world has clearly moved on too. Bing's opening gambit, snapped above, is for a version of pick-up-sticks called Mikado and confectionery called Mikado. Light opera is a special order.
References
Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/11/reference-1-being-chance-purchase-by.html. A post mainly about Gilbert & Sullivan, the odd file name the result of forgetting the post title when I first posted it.
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