Closed and open

 IP2.0, a project that concerns itself with the debate on the issue of intellectual property entering a new playing field, has started.
 Domestic rules do not apply to overseas servers, so Japanese business are on the receiving end of an unfair tax and copyright system. Japanese video game companies have established independent regulations, but international platforms such as Google and the App Store do not follow them, thus domestic game makers are losing out to overseas companies. What should we do about this?
 France and Italy impose fines and taxes on Google. China adds restrictions to the activities of overseas corporations. There are open talks about tactics to form regional blocs. Bloc economies have drawn much flak politically and economically, but in the digital playing field, there exist arguments that affirm them. That is how terrific the pace of globalization is.
 If the EU and China form a bloc, what should Japan do? If Japan joins the bloc, it will no longer be able to sustain itself independently. Even if Japan relies on America just because of that, the competition from Google, Apple, and Amazon lies in America.

 In contrast to that, there is also the strategy of suppressing the rules of individual countries and shifting toward a more open and multinational set of rules. We have WTO for trade and commerce, WIPO for intellectual property, and recently we have TPP.
 Should there be separate rules for each of the modern nations, or should there be a multinational society? This is a 100-year-old topic, ever since Wilson championed the principles of harmony through the formation of the League of Nations. The fact that this topic has resurfaced at this point in time attests to the power of digital technology.
 The power of countries, once thought to be immoveable entities, is showing signs of uncertainty. International business platforms sometimes demonstrate international power beyond that of the influence of entire countries. Similarly, meta-level global decision making beyond the scope of individual countries is sought after in the TPP.