Reborn 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 team was caught off guard.

When Francis was at his peak, he was really killing people when he was blocked, and killing Buddha when he was blocked. In normal games, Kobe was completely overwhelmed by Francis.

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

O'Neal, another big player on the Lakers team, 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, surpassing Chairman Yao's 10 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocks in terms of statistics.

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 player five times in one game.

At the beginning, when O'Neal ate his first hot pot, he thought it didn't matter. After all, it wasn't embarrassing 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 take the risk of a 2.26-meter fadeaway jumper?

The angry O'Neal had no choice but to turn on all his firepower and launch 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, Houston people 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 RMB 100 million to sign him, and I must be regretting it now!" Li Weidong said with a smile.

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

James Bond went on to say: "And now Adidas is struggling with a patent lawsuit over Tianzu!"

"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.

In his research, Ellis found 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 right 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 the natural foot.

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.

Sufficient technology.

But the patent license 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 a licensing fee of $100 million."

"One hundred million U.S. dollars?" Li Weidong thought for a while 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 a patent for 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 had indeed fallen into a low ebb. It was losing ground to Nike in the North American market, and faced a double attack from 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 thing 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 that 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 it is a pity that the lawsuit between Adidas and Ellis ultimately ruined 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 bypass Ellis' patent right directly.

The lawsuit lasted for two years. Although it ended in mediation, it ended up being a loss for both sides. Adidas gave up the Tianzu series, and Ellis did not get a penny.

It was not until the patent protection period for barefoot technology expired 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, and 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 without ten or eight years.

So Li Weidong focused on Tianzu!

Tianzu's reputation is big enough, and its sales volume is 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.

"We can give him a share. For example, if we license the patent to us, every time we sell a pair of sneakers 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 is the appropriate percentage?"

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. The lawsuit between the two parties also started 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 profit cannot exceed 25% at most."

For the sake of Tianzu technology, Li Weidong is willing to pay a quarter of the profit, which is considered 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 profits as patent licensing fees, and then I negotiated with him for 50%, but we couldn't continue the negotiation. I think it would 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 every time Feiyue Sports sells a pair of shoes 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?"

Today's update is delivered. Thank you for your subscription. There are still 300 monthly passes this month, and it's the last two days. Those of you who have monthly passes hope to support me. Thank you for passing the test!