Reborn Industrial Tycoon

After the Canton Fair, Li Weidong did not return to Qinghe immediately, but came to Hong Kong Island.

Donald Law Firm, Li Weidong met the beautiful lawyer Zheng Jianan again.

"Lawyer Zheng, do you remember what I mentioned last time about opening a company in Hong Kong Island? At that time, I thought it was not necessary, but now I'm afraid I really need to set up a company." Li Weidong said.

"As long as you have a legal identity, it is easy to register a company on Hong Kong Island." Zheng Jia'an paused and then said: "Mr. Li, do you need me to help you fill in the relevant forms for company registration?"

"Lawyer Zheng, if you just fill out the form, I don't need to come to you!" Li Weidong smiled slightly and then said: "What I plan to set up is a patent operating company."

"Mr. Li, it seems unnecessary to establish a patent operating company just for the patent of an air fryer, right?" Zheng Jianan said.

"The air fryer patent is just the first one, and there will be many more patents in the future," Li Weidong replied.

Zheng Jianan felt that Li Weidong was a bit bragging. After all, Zheng Jianan was a beautiful woman, and there were many men who wanted to attract her attention by bragging in front of her. Zheng Jianan was already used to it.

Zheng Jianan smiled slightly and said politely: "I didn't expect Mr. Li to be an inventor."

Li Weidong continued: "Even if there are no other patents in the future, it is worthwhile to establish a patent operating company specifically for this air fryer patent."

"Mr. Li is very optimistic about the air fryer market?" Zheng Jianan asked casually.

"I estimate that air fryers will create a market of hundreds of millions of dollars in the next few years." Li Weidong replied.

Zheng Jianan smiled slightly, and the sarcasm in his smile flashed away. She had seen many braggarts, but there were not many who could brag like Li Weidong. It was the first time that he had made hundreds of millions of dollars in one mouth.

Zheng Jianan really wanted to say, if anyone urinates yellow, water him immediately to wake him up!

Li Weidong continued: "Before I came to Hong Kong Island, I had just participated in the Canton Fair. I bought more than 40,000 units of this air fryer at the Canton Fair and won an order worth 12 million US dollars."

"Twelve million U.S. dollars?" Zheng Jia'an was startled. If 1 U.S. dollar was exchanged for 7.8 Hong Kong dollars, this would be 93.6 million Hong Kong dollars, almost close to 100 million.

Li Weidong continued: "Air fryers are a new product after all, and it takes time for the market to accept a new product. So I estimate that this year's air fryer market will be around 200,000 units, but by next year, market demand will

The volume is likely to reach 300,000 to 400,000 units, and one million units within five years."

"If the air fryer can really achieve the sales volume you said, then it is indeed worth setting up a patent operating company for it." Zheng Jianan said, but he still didn't believe it.

Li Weidong asked abruptly: "I wonder if Lawyer Zheng is interested in this patent operating company?"

"Mr. Li, I don't quite understand what you mean." Zheng Jianan said.

"I would like to invite Lawyer Zheng to manage the daily affairs of the patent operation company." Li Weidong continued: "This is also the purpose of my visit this time."

Zheng Jianan smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Li, how much salary do you plan to give me? The salary of our lawyers is not low! If the salary you give you is not high enough, I will not change jobs."

"Not a penny!" Li Weidong continued: "But I can give you 20% of the shares."

Zheng Jianan did not look moved at all. In Hong Kong Island, the threshold for registering a company is very low, so Hong Kong Island is also full of various handbag companies. Zheng Jianan has no interest in a 20% share of a handbag company.

Li Weidong went on to say: "I registered this patent operation company just in case. The main business of the patent operation company is only to collect patent fees. If someone infringes upon it, send them a lawyer's letter to stop their infringement."

, the business is not complicated. Lawyer Zheng can completely regard this as a part-time job and can complete it easily."

"Why do I think you are looking for free labor? And this free labor is also a lawyer." Zheng Jianan said jokingly.

"Lawyer Zheng misunderstood. As a shareholder, you can get dividends. How can you call it free labor?" Li Weidong said with a smile.

But Zheng Jianan shook his head: "Mr. Li, I'm very sorry. As a lawyer, I'm usually quite busy with my work. I'm afraid I don't have time to help you manage your company. I appreciate your kindness."

"Lawyer Zheng, do you think I'm like a liar?" Li Weidong had already seen through Zheng Jianan's thoughts.

Zheng Jianan said nothing, which was equivalent to acquiescence.

Li Weidong simply took out a stack of documents from his bag, handed it to Zheng Jianan, and then said: "Lawyer Zheng, this is the order contract I signed at the Canton Fair, which also includes top American retailers such as Wal-Mart and Costco."

Zheng Jianan took the contract and read it at a glance. Later, he simply looked at the amount.

"Costco purchased 20,000 units for a total of US$5.7 million!"

"Wal-Mart purchased 10,000 units for a total of US$2.85 million!"

Zheng Jianan looked at the contracts one by one and silently added up what he knew about the contracts. It really amounted to more than 12 million US dollars.

"Did your air fryer really cost 12 million US dollars?" Zheng Jia'an's expression finally changed, and her eyes widened in surprise.

At this moment, Zheng Jianan finally understood that Li Weidong was not bragging.

A product worth 12 million U.S. dollars, even if calculated based on a 10% profit, is 1.2 million U.S. dollars, equivalent to nearly 10 million Hong Kong dollars.

In other words, the young man from mainland China in front of me is actually a multi-millionaire!

At this time, Zheng Jianan looked at Li Weidong again, and she suddenly felt that Li Weidong was a little handsome.

The multi-millionaire in 1988 was still a handsome young man. Why not just call him "husband"?

Li Weidong said with a sincere face: "Lawyer Zheng, you should be more detailed now. I am not a liar. I sincerely hope you can join."

Zheng Jianan quickly calculated in his mind.

According to international practice, the patent licensing fee will account for 5% of the product price, and the maximum will not exceed 10%. Therefore, if the patent fee is officially charged, this 12 million order will be able to collect at least 600,000 US dollars in patent fees.

fee.

For 20% of the shares, you can get a share of US$120,000, which is close to 1 million in Hong Kong dollars!

In Hong Kong in 1988, it was not easy for even a lawyer with excellent earning power to earn 1 million.

Of course, this $12 million order was signed before the patent operating company was established, so the patent operating company did not receive patent fees.

However, this order also proves the market value and future potential of air fryers. If it is as Li Weidong said, this is a big market worth hundreds of millions of dollars, then the annual patent fees alone will be 5 million. Zheng Jianan casually

You can get a million dollars.

Thinking of this, Zheng Jianan was finally moved.

…

The appearance of Saburo Hanaya alerted Li Weidong, and from then on, he made the decision to establish a patent operating company to be responsible for patent matters.

The air fryer has applied for a patent in the PCT. Of course, the patent company is located outside the country, and there are no such policies and conditions in the country. Therefore, Hong Kong Island is Li Weidong's only choice at present.

At that time, China was not a signatory to the PCT, so Li Weidong registered the patent domestically alone. However, registering a patent domestically was more like a declaration of ownership. Li Weidong did not expect the country to help him protect his patent.

The main business of a patent operating company is nothing more than two things. One is to make money from patents, that is, collect patent fees, and the other is to pursue the legal liability of infringers.

Therefore, a patent utilization company must have someone who is proficient in law, and it is best to have a dedicated lawyer who can send a lawyer's letter to the infringer at any time.

So Li Weidong recruited Zheng Jianan to join the group, mainly because Li Weidong was not familiar with the place in Hong Kong Island and did not know other lawyers.

The business environment on Hong Kong Island is indeed very open. Registering a company is a very simple matter. Just fill in a few forms and complete the company registration.

The company was registered in a hurry, and Li Weidong did not deliberately design the company name. He simply chose the name "Southeast Company", which was a word chosen from the names of the two shareholders of the company.

"Dong" is naturally the "east" of Li Weidong, and "nan" is the homophonic pronunciation of the "male" in Zheng Jia'an's name, which together means "southeast".

Southeast Patent Operation Company's first business after its establishment was to sign a patent transfer agreement with Li Weidong. Li Weidong transferred the air fryer patent to Southeast Company at a price of HKD 1.

Li Weidong signed his name on the transfer agreement, and Zheng Jianan handed Li Weidong a 1 yuan Hong Kong dollar coin.

"Is this okay?" Li Weidong asked.

"You still need to sign a licensing agreement." Zheng Jianan then explained: "Now you have transferred the air fryer patent to Southeast Company, and if your electric furnace factory wants to continue to produce air fryers, it must

Obtain the authorization from Southeast Company, otherwise it will be an infringement. So now you have to sign a patent licensing agreement for the electric furnace factory."

Li Weidong smiled: "Even if I don't sign, Southeast Company can still sue me? Doesn't that mean I sue myself?"

"Legally, you can file a lawsuit." Zheng Jianan then added: "Even if both companies belong to you."

"Then should I stand in the plaintiff's dock or the defendant's dock?" Li Weidong asked.

Zheng Jianan thought for a while and replied: "You should stand in the defendant's box. The plaintiff's box is where I stand."

Li Weidong nodded silently, and then said: "If I don't sign the patent licensing agreement, then the electric furnace factory will be infringing, but as long as Southeast Company does not resort to legal means, can the electric furnace factory continue to produce and sell air fryers?

pot?"

"Intellectual property rights are civil rights, so intellectual property cases are also civil litigation cases. The law protects civil rights. If the right holder gives up on pursuing liability, it does not mean that the perpetrator's behavior is not illegal."

Zheng Jia'an paused and then explained; "In intellectual property cases, if the rights holder gives up on pursuing liability, it will form a situation of 'infringement but not liability'.

In other words, as long as Southeast Company states that it will not pursue infringement, any manufacturer can continue to produce and sell air fryers without having to bear legal responsibility.

But one thing needs to be explained. Giving up on pursuing liability does not mean that the right holder loses his rights. From a legal perspective, the right holder can regret it at any time and then pursue liability for infringement."

"That's it!" Li Weidong nodded, and then said, "Then I won't sign this patent licensing agreement."

"Why?" Zheng Jianan asked somewhat puzzled.

Li Weidong sighed: "Because it is not easy to run a business in mainland China!"