Rebirth of the Industrial Tycoon

Chapter 652: Seeking Heaven’s Sudden Supremacy

Houston, home of the Rockets.

The Lakers visit Houston. Although it is an away game, the media generally believes that the Lakers will win this game.

Because the Lakers are the defending champions, and the Rockets were one of the five worst teams in the league last season.

However, after entering the game, the OK combination was caught off guard.

When Francis was at his peak, he really killed people when they were blocking him, and he was killing Buddha when he was blocking Buddhas. In normal games, Kobe was completely overwhelmed by Francis.

However, in this game, Kobe's touch was indeed poor, and his shooting percentage was very bad, only a little over 20%.

O'Neal, another big player of the Lakers, was somewhat confused by the cover.

Opposing O'Neal is, of course, Chairman Yao, who is still in his first year as a rookie.

In this game, O'Neal scored 31 points and 13 rebounds. In terms of statistics, he surpassed Chairman Yao's 10 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocks.

However, five of Chairman Yao's six blocks were given to O'Neal.

As the No. 1 center in the NBA, it was really embarrassing for O'Neal to be taken out by the same person five times in one game.

At the beginning, when O'Neal ate the first hot pot, he thought it didn't matter. After all, it was not a shame to be risked by someone taller than him.

But when he was missed for the third time in a row, O'Neal became completely angry.

After all, O'Neal is the number one center in the NBA. If you, a rookie, take advantage of three of them, I don't want my face anymore!

So O'Neal was eager to regain the scene. He also wanted to give Chairman Yao a big hit, but he soon discovered that the 2.26-meter big man in front of him was actually playing a fadeaway jumper!

Who can risk a 2.26-meter fadeaway jumper?

The angry O'Neal had no choice but to turn on all his firepower and start an all-out attack mode.

This was also the first Yao-Shark matchup. In the end, the defending champion Lakers and last season's Yubi Rockets reached overtime, and then the defending champion lost to the Yubi team.

On the sidelines of the game, Li Weidong and James Bond sat side by side.

"Boss, this big man is very popular in Houston!" James Bond said.

"Yes, since Olajuwon left, Houstonians have been waiting for the second Olajuwon. Now they are pinning their hopes on Yao." Li Weidong replied.

James Bond continued: "Our other spokesperson, Stoudemire's data is also very good. This time we chose the right one again!"

"Playing next to Nash, the statistics will never be too bad." Li Weidong paused and then asked: "How is the situation of the second pick?"

"You mean Jay Williams, right?" James Bond thought for a moment and said, "Based on the second place standard, his performance is very average. Although he occasionally has a wonderful performance, most of the time They are all relatively mediocre.”

"Adidas spent 100 million to sign him, and I must be regretting it now!" Li Weidong said with a smile.

"I heard that Adidas' German headquarters is very dissatisfied with Sony Vaccaro, and they are likely to change the person in charge of North America."

James Bond continued: "And now Adidas is struggling with a patent lawsuit!"

"Tianzu? Is it the core sneaker technology of Adidas?" Li Weidong asked immediately.

"Yes, that's it. Adidas may have nearly a hundred models of sports shoes using Tianzu technology, but now, if the price cannot be negotiated, Adidas may lose Tianzu." James Bond explained. .

"What exactly is going on? Tell me in detail." Li Weidong said.

So James Bond explained; "Actually, the original technology of Tianzu does not belong to Adidas. The person who invented Tianzu is named Frampton Ellis, who was a track and field athlete at Duke University.

Ellis once had to say goodbye to his sports career due to an ankle injury, so he decided to invent a safe and stable shoe to protect athletes' feet.

Ellis found in his research that human bare feet are more stable than when wearing shoes, so after three years of research, he developed bare foot sole technology and applied for a patent.

Later, Adidas obtained the patent rights to use bare feet from Ellis and made improvements. While imitating the state of human bare feet, it increased the outer edge of the traditional rolling arm, which reduced the deflection angle of the ankle during exercise and enhanced stability. sex.

Then there are modules set up at multiple key points to form a dynamic stabilizing triangle on the forefoot, so that the entire foot will be in a natural state similar to a bare foot. This is Tianzu.

Adidas officially released "Tianzu" technology in 1996. From 1997 to 2001, Adidas released more than 100 sports shoes with Tianzu technology. Not only basketball shoes, but also tennis shoes, running shoes, etc. all have Tianzu technology.

However, the patent authorization between Adidas and Ellis expired in 2001, and then the two parties failed to reach an agreement on the renewal of the contract, so they went to court, and the lawsuit is still ongoing. "

"Is it because the licensing fee has not been negotiated?" Li Weidong asked.

"The licensing fee is the main reason." James Bond went on to explain: "When Ellis originally licensed the barefoot technology to Adidas, he did not expect that the natural foot would become Adidas's signature.

So Ellis felt that the original licensing fee was too low and he suffered a big loss. Therefore, during the contract renewal negotiations, the Lions opened their mouths and asked for a very high price. Although I don’t know the specific quotation of Ellis, but based on Rumor has it that Ellis wants $100 million in licensing fees. "

"One hundred million U.S. dollars?" Li Weidong thought for a moment and said, "Tianzu's sneakers sell so well. Judging from the sales volume of the Tianzu series, 100 million U.S. dollars is not expensive."

"That's $100 million a year!" James Bond added.

"Then this is really a big deal! With such a high price, no matter how wealthy Adidas is, it is impossible to agree to it." Li Weidong said.

"But Ellis believes that Tianzu is Adidas' core product, so Adidas will never give up Tianzu. Therefore, even if he opens his mouth, Adidas must eventually compromise."

James Bond paused and then introduced: "But Adidas is not easy to deal with. They directly applied for the patent of Tianzu."

"Wait a minute, doesn't the patent for Tianzu belong to Ellis?" Li Weidong asked immediately.

"To be precise, what Ellis holds is a patent for bare feet, and Adidas believes that the natural foot they use has made many modifications to the original bare foot patent. It is completely different from bare feet and is a new type of patent. But Adidas Leith naturally did not agree with Adidas’ statement, so both parties went to court,” James Bond explained.

…

In the 1970s, Adidas defeated Converse and became the world's number one sports brand.

However, since Nike signed Jordan, it has risen rapidly. By the early 1990s, Nike had surpassed Adidas and became the world's number one.

At that time, Adidas was indeed in a low ebb. It was defeated by Nike in the North American market and faced the double attack of Puma and Nike in the European market. Life was quite difficult.

At that time, Adidas had just abandoned the classic clover logo, and the three-stripes logo that would become known to later generations had not yet been formed, so it was in a "bald" state.

Even on important occasions like the World Cup, the team jerseys sponsored by Adidas only have the English letters of Adidas and no Adidas logo.

People thought that Adidas, a time-honored brand, would fall into decline. However, the advent of "Tianzu" gave Adidas a successful turnaround.

At that time, the most talked about was Nike's Zoom series. However, after the Tianzu series came out, the mantra of American sneaker enthusiasts changed from "Are you wearing Zoom?" to "Are you wearing Tianzu?"

The early Tianzu also had many shortcomings, such as being too heavy and not wear-resistant, but these were eventually solved as Adidas used more new materials.

The Zoom series, which Nike had high hopes for, could not withstand Tianzu's offensive. They had to come up with Shox technology in advance to compete with Adidas' Tianzu.

It can be said that it is precisely because of the advent of the Tianzu series that Adidas, which has been stuck in the quagmire, has regained a new lease of life.

But unfortunately, the lawsuit between Adidas and Ellis ended up ruining Tianzu.

Ellis thought he was making less money, so he opened his mouth during patent renewal negotiations.

Adidas simply refused to admit it and directly said that my natural foot is not your patent and wanted to directly bypass Ellis' patent.

The lawsuit lasted for two years, and although it ended in mediation, it ended up being a lose-lose situation. Adidas gave up the Tianzu series, and Ellis didn't make any money.

It was not until the barefoot technology passed the patent protection period that Adidas resurrected the natural foot.

Nike also breathed a sigh of relief. If Adidas had not lost its talent, Nike might have been overtaken by Adidas based on its immature Shox technology.

…

James Bond's introduction made Li Weidong fall into deep thought.

Although the current Feiyue sneakers have good sales and top spokespersons, they do not have any core technology that they can excel in.

Nike has the air cushion technology that it is famous for, as well as the new Zoom technology. Even the Shox technology that has been criticized by others is quite famous.

The core technologies of Adidas include adiPRENE, A3 structural shock absorption, and the famous shit-stepping BOOST technology.

Even domestic brands have independently developed some core technologies in later generations, such as Anta's energy ring and Li Ning's Li Ning bow.

If Feiyue Sports wants to continue in this industry, it must have a core technology that it can produce.

If we rely on our own research and development, it will be difficult to come up with decent technology within ten or eight years.

So Li Weidong focused on Tianzu!

Tianzu's reputation is big enough, and its sales are also very good. If it is taken over, it can be directly used as the core technology of Feiyue Sports.

Just listen to Li Weidong say: "James, I am very interested in this Tianzu technology. I want to find a way to contact Ellis and ask about the patent licensing fee."

"He wants 100 million US dollars a year. Even if it is a 30% or 40% discount, we can't afford it. If we have so much money, we might as well develop it ourselves." James Bond said.

"Can we give him a share? For example, if we license the patent to us, for every pair of sneakers we sell with the Tianzu patent, we will give him a certain percentage of the profit share." Li Weidong said.

"Okay, I'll try to get in touch with Ellis." James Bond then asked: "What percentage is more appropriate?"

Li Weidong asked: "How long will it take for the Tianzu patent in Ellis' hands to expire?"

James Bond answered: "Ellis's patent was applied for in 1991, and then he signed a ten-year patent license with Adidas, which expired in 2001, and the lawsuit between the two parties began at that time.

U.S. patent law stipulates that non-appearance patents are valid for twenty years, so Ellis’s patent should expire in 2011. "

Li Weidong nodded, pondered for a moment and then said: "The maximum profit cannot exceed 25%."

For Tianzu technology, Li Weidong is willing to pay a quarter of the profit, which is already a very sincere price.

…

A few days later, Li Weidong received a reply from James Bond.

"That Ellis is really greedy. He asked for 70% of the profit as the patent licensing fee. Then I talked to him about 50%, but we couldn't talk any more. I think it will be difficult for him to lower the price. After all, he How dare you ask Adeas for $100 million a year!" James Bond said.

"Fifty percent, that's really whimsical!" Li Weidong snorted coldly.

Fifty percent means that for every pair of shoes sold by Feiyue Sports with Tianzu technology, half of the profit must be given to Ellis.

If it’s a new patent in the high-tech industry, that’s it. It’s simply a fantasy to want to enjoy 50% of the profits from a sneaker patent that was issued more than ten years ago!

I have to say that Ellis is too greedy.

To put it another way, if Ellis was not greedy, he would have reached an agreement with Adidas long ago, and the Tianzu series would not be ruined.

Just listen to Li Weidong say: "50% is definitely impossible. Since Ellis is unwilling to lower the price, then I will find a way to force him to lower the price."

"Boss, what should we do?" James Bond asked immediately.

"You need to do two things for me first. First, reveal to the media that we, Feiyue Sports, intend to purchase the patent rights of Tianzu, and we have now entered a substantive negotiation stage.

Second, you should design a sneaker with Tianzu technology as soon as possible. Remember, this shoe does not need to be very practical, but it must be fashionable enough. "Li Weidong said.

"Okay, boss!" James Bond agreed without hesitation.

When it comes to making trendy shoes, James Bond is definitely the one to take the lead.

Later, Li Weidong called the Jinjiang sneaker factory.

"Hey, Boss Huang, I'm Li Weidong! I have something to ask you for help. Do you know anyone who sells fake shoes?"

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