industrial overlord

Chapter 173 Draining from the Bottom
Seeing Lin Zhenhua and Hua Keqin walking away, Sun Pansheng called Yuan Wei over and asked, "Manager Yuan, is your five-leaf fan made after the model of Hanhua Company?"

Yuan Wei nodded: "Director Sun, to be honest, we obtained one of their fans through foreign trade channels, and made a mold based on their leaves."

Sun Pansheng frowned and said, "It's too much for you to do this. They make five leaves, but you can make seven or eight leaves. Why do you have to be the same?"

Yuan Wei said with a bitter face: "Director Sun, we have actually tried it. Practice has shown that only five leaves are the most suitable. After changing to seven or more leaves, the leaves are too narrow to guarantee the strength. If stiffeners are added, the weight will exceed the standard again.”

"Then you should at least make some changes in the shape of the leaves? According to them, it seems that your leaves are exactly the same as theirs. No wonder they are unhappy."

Yuan Wei said: "Director Sun, we have learned that the reason why the five-leaf fan of Hanhua Company in Jiangnan Province sells well is because the wind of this fan is very soft, and it doesn't feel uncomfortable when it blows on the body. We didn't know it at the beginning. , using the traditional fan blade shape, it just can’t produce their wind effect. After trying, only their shape, other shapes will not work, the wind blows out is harder than theirs, uncomfortable .”

"Is there such a god?" Sun Pansheng asked in disbelief.

Yuan Weidao: "I asked someone in private. Their leaf fan was designed by an expert from the Navy. That expert was a student who studied in the Soviet Union. He is very good. How can we have such a talent?"

Sun Pansheng nodded, and said, "I said that Hua Keqin is so annoyed, and it seems to be reasonable."

"So, Director Sun, are our fans still on sale?" Yuan Wei asked cautiously.

"Of course, why not sell it?" Sun Pansheng said, "Didn't you report the plan and say that you will earn at least 600 million foreign exchange?"

Yuan Wei said: "That's right, we set a price of 30 US dollars per unit, and the sales target is 20 units, with a total of 600 million foreign exchange income. Now 20 fans have been produced. If they cannot be sold, it will be troublesome." .”

"Don't be afraid, the Department of Foreign Trade will support you, just sell it well." Sun Pansheng said coquettishly, "He Hua Keqin used some patents to scare me, I'm not afraid of him."

The same conversation was also going on at the booths of other provinces and regions.The fact that Jiangnan Province has applied for a patent on the five-leaf fan has created a small stimulus for the companies that produce knockoff five-leaf fans, but this is only limited to giving them a little more talk.In everyone's mind, the patent authorization letter is really just a piece of waste paper.The foreign trade departments of all provinces know what patents are, but they all believe in one thing, that is, Jiangnan Province has nothing to do with them.

Hua Keqin returned to his booth, fuming with anger.When he saw other provinces imitating five-leaf fans at first, he just complained and didn't feel angry.When he heard that Lin Zhenhua had a patent in his hand, he had some hopes, and then went to discuss with Lin Zhenhua for an explanation.Unexpectedly, the explanation was not obtained, but instead, he was full of cowardice.

"These people are really shameless!" Hua Keqin scolded angrily.

Lin Zhenhua was also angry, but what he thought more about was how to protect himself.If this kind of infringement cannot be resolved, Hanhua Company will not be able to develop new products in the future, and if it develops one, it will be knocked out by the copycats. Wouldn't it be a fool who specializes in making wedding dresses for others?
"Director Hua, can't we just leave it like this?" Lin Zhenhua said.

"Forget it, what else can I do?" Hua Keqin said.

Lin Zhenhua said, "We can sue them."

"Sue? Where to sue?"

"Court, is China still a country ruled by law?" Lin Zhenhua said as a matter of course.

Hua Keqin shook his head: "How can this be reasonable? How can the government sue the government? It is impossible for the court to accept it. Besides, even if you sue, there must be a reason?"

"The reason is very simple, they violated our patent."

"Does our country have laws in this regard?"

"do not have it?"

"Have it?"

"..." Lin Zhenhua was at a loss for words. He didn't study law, so he naturally didn't know whether China had laws and regulations on intellectual property protection at this time.However, according to his impression, it seems that the "Patent Law" has not been promulgated at this time, otherwise, his five-blade fan would not need to go to Hong Kong to apply for a patent.

"Or, let's find the higher authorities to judge." Lin Zhenhua took the next best thing and began to seek the organization to come forward.As a young man from the 21st century, he is really not used to this kind of rule of man.In the age of lawlessness, we can only use power to solve problems.

Hua Keqin asked: "Superior supervisor? Our superior supervisor is the Ministry of Foreign Trade. I guess it is useless to find them. They must be playing football and will not directly express their opinions."

Having said that, before you are completely desperate, you still have to try.Hua Keqin took Lin Zhenhua to the office of the organizing committee, found the staff sent by the Ministry of Foreign Trade, and told them about the infringement he had encountered.

The result was as estimated by Hua Keqin. People from the Ministry of Foreign Trade said that this was a dispute between their companies. At present, there is no special legal regulation on patents in the country. It is suggested that they should resolve it through friendly negotiation.As for the Ministry of Foreign Trade itself, it is not convenient to intervene in such affairs.

"Now the central government also advocates increasing the autonomy of enterprises. As the competent department, it is not good for us to interfere too much in the operation of enterprises." A director of the Ministry of Foreign Trade said in an official tone.

"I..." Lin Zhenhua restrained the desire to slap the director, this guy really deserved a slap.

"Oh, forget it." Hua Keqin pulled Lin Zhenhua back to the booth, and comforted him: "Xiao Lin, learn your lesson. To be a business in China, you have to adapt to this situation. Be sure to pay attention to any new products in the future." Keep it a secret, and it must be revealed at the last moment, otherwise, before your product goes on the market, other people's products will be sold out."

"Director Hua, if you say that, there's no room for reason?" Lin Zhenhua said angrily.

"You have also seen that the attitude of all provinces is the same, and the Ministry of Foreign Trade is not willing to get involved in this muddy water. For the Ministry of Foreign Trade, no matter who sells the fan, it is their task of earning foreign exchange anyway, so they are too lazy Let’s take care of which province has more and less.” Hua Keqin said.

Lin Zhenhua looked at Hua Keqin and asked, "Director Hua, I would like to ask, what is our province's attitude towards this matter?"

"Attitude? What attitude do you want?" Hua Keqin asked back.

Lin Zhenhua said: "I mean, if I start defending my rights now and offend representatives of other provinces and cities, will the province support me?"

Hua Keqin thought for a while and asked, "Xiao Lin, you don't mean to smash other people's stalls, do you? If you do this, I can't support you."

Lin Zhenhua sneered and said, "Of course I won't do anything illegal, Director Hua, don't worry, I only do what the law permits. They don't teach the law, I want to teach them law lessons."

Hua Keqin said: "As long as what you do is not illegal, the provincial government will support you. If you can really suppress their arrogance, no matter how many people you offend, I will support you."

"Okay!" Lin Zhenhua said, "Director Hua, just watch it. I'll give them a drastic drudgery and let them go back crying. When the time comes, just wait and see."

The Spring Canton Fair opened as scheduled in 1983. As in previous years, overseas merchants entered the exhibition hall with deep interest.What caught their eyes was a variety of colorful and ingenious Chinese products.With the increasing opening to the outside world, more and more Chinese enterprises have begun to study and introduce advanced foreign technologies to improve domestic production. Various new products have emerged one after another, and the varieties of export commodities at the Canton Fair have also become increasingly rich.

"Oh, is this the Chinese five-blade fan?" A merchant specializing in home appliances saw the five-blade fan on the booth of Eastern Zhejiang Province at a glance, and approached it with great interest.

Yuan Wei introduced his product with a pleasant smile: "That's right, this is the Qiantang brand five-blade fan produced by Dongzhe Hongwei Electromechanical Company. The wind is soft, energy-saving, and reliable in quality."

"Qiantang brand?" The merchant asked in surprise, "How do I remember that the water lily brand was sold in the market last year?"

"Well, the difference is actually not that big." Yuan Wei said, "Our five-blade fan is priced at $5 less than the Water Lily brand, and it's not inferior to theirs in terms of quality."

"Is that so?"

"You can try it yourself," Yuan Wei said.

Except for the fan shape, the five-blade fan really doesn't have any complicated technology.East Zhejiang Province saw the hot sale of Hanhua's five-leaf fan last year, and placed great hope in Hongwei's Qiantang fan, so it invested a lot of money to help it improve its production equipment, including forging molds and so on.In this way, the quality of Qiantang fans is not significantly different from that of Hanhua's Water Lily brand five-leaf fans.

"Great, we are looking for such a fan." The foreign businessman said happily, "Excuse me, how much is your quotation?"

"Our quotation is 35 dollars." Yuan Wei said.

"Well, no, no, I think $35 is too high a price for us to accept." The merchant said.

"Then, my dear sir, what kind of price do you think is more appropriate?"

"I think that $30 is the bottom line we can accept. If it is higher than this price, our company will not be profitable."

"Sir, please come to the negotiating room with me to discuss in detail..."

In front of the booths of the provinces, there are such bargains.Last year, Hanhua Company exported 50 sets of five-bladed fans, which were sold to European and American countries, leading a small fashion.This year, many home appliance dealers came to the Canton Fair with the task of importing some five-blade fans.Seeing the five-leaf fans all over the place, these foreign dealers were overjoyed, because they knew that once all the booths were selling the same product, then according to the Chinese habit, they would definitely lower the prices of each other to compete for customers.All foreigners have to do is wait for the Chinese to fight to the end and sell their products at the price of cabbage.

"Manager Lin, the price quoted by the Anhui Pavilion is $28."

"Manager Lin, Jiangsu quoted a price of 27 dollars."

"Manager Lin, $25..."

One by one, the news reached Lin Zhenhua's ears one after another. Lin Zhenhua remained expressionless, but hummed softly to show that he had heard it.In his heart, he didn't know whether it was anger or sadness, perhaps, this was the helplessness of an era.

A senior once told such a story that a certain product produced by his company once occupied 80% of the European market.However, such a big exporter was defeated by his neighbors.After seeing the hot sales of his products, everyone competed to imitate them and compete at lower prices.Youdao is hard to beat with two fists and four hands. Although he has the advantage of being the first mover, he can't stand up to many competitors. In the end, he can only give up this product and switch to other fields.

The competition that Lin Zhenhua encountered was like this.Fortunately, he planned ahead and left a patent in his hand, which was his only hope to turn defeat into victory.

"Mr. Lin, I saw five-blade fans everywhere, but your price is the highest. What's the reason?"

Belinda, the sales director of Gart Corporation in the United States, appeared in front of the exhibition area of ​​Jiangnan Province with a smile, and said softly to Lin Zhenhua.

Last year, Gart made a small fortune selling five-blade fans in the US market, much to Belinda's delight.Lin Zhenhua once told her in the letter that Hanhua Company will launch some equally fascinating new products, which also gave Belinda some expectations.Seeing that other five-leaf fans were on sale, Belinda couldn't help coming over to give Lin Zhenhua a reminder.

"Hello, Ms. Belinda, I'm glad to see you again." Lin Zhenhua threw away the depression on his face, and walked forward with open arms.Belinda smiled coquettishly, and gave Lin Zhenhua a hug.Although she is over 50 years old, she still has charm.

"Mr. Lin, you are really the most attractive Chinese I have ever met." Belinda said happily, but she immediately brought the conversation back to business: "Mr. Lin, you haven't answered me yet, why do you Fans still insist on quoting at $42, aren’t you afraid that others will steal your market?”

Lin Zhenhua said: "Ms. Belinda, you don't know, the reason why my fans are expensive is because we have to pay patent fees."

"Patent fee?" Belinda asked curiously, "Is the five-bladed fan a patented product?"

"Of course." Lin Zhenhua said, "Didn't you notice that the patent number is always written on the box of our five-blade fan. This patent belongs to our company exclusively, and anyone without our company's authorization , are not allowed to produce and sell such fans.”

Belinda pointed to the five-leaf fans that filled the hall, and asked, "Mr. Lin, don't you want to tell me that those fans are not authorized by you?"

"That's right." Lin Zhenhua said, "I'm ashamed. Our country still has some shortcomings in patent protection. Of course, this is only a temporary phenomenon. I believe that in the near future, our country will also be very concerned about the issue of patent protection. I Those in the same industry who don't know enough about patent issues, which is why this regrettable phenomenon occurs."

Belinda asked: "Mr. Lin, if this is the case, why don't you stop their infringement? If such behavior happened in the United States, these manufacturers would face huge compensation."

Lin Zhenhua said: "No way, there is no relevant law in our country, and the patent I applied for is not a domestic patent in our country. The current situation is that they will not be punished by law if they produce these fans domestically. .However, if any distributor tries to sell this unauthorized fan product in the United States, Japan or a certain country in Europe, it will constitute an infringement of the patent law of that country."

Belinda is so smart, she immediately understood the meaning contained in Lin Zhenhua's twisted words.She grabbed a British businessman who was passing by her, and said to him: "Mr. Black, I heard that you signed a contract with China Hongwei Company to import five-blade fans, is that true?"

Most of the foreign merchants who come to the Canton Fair live in a few hotels. In addition, all of them are home appliances, so they know each other better.Hearing Belinda's question, the businessman named Blake replied: "That's right, that's exactly it. I'm sorry, their price is much cheaper than this Mr. Lin's price, I've seen it , There is no obvious gap between their product quality and this Mr. Lin's product."

Blake has also dealt with Lin Zhenhua, because last year he imported a batch of five-blade fans from Lin Zhenhua, and they sold very well in the UK market.

Belinda smiled and said, "Blake, if I were you, I wouldn't sign this contract with Redguard."

"Why?" Blake asked puzzled.

Belinda pointed at Lin Zhenhua and said, "Because, as far as I know, the five-blade fans produced by other manufacturers are all infringing products. The patent right of the five-blade fan is in the hands of this Mr. Lin."

Without losing the opportunity, Lin Zhenhua handed over a list and said to Black: "Mr. Black, you can take a look at this document. It has the patent number of the five-bladed fan we obtained. You can ask your lawyer to check it. I I have entrusted lawyer Qian Yuanping from Hong Kong to act as my attorney to be responsible for the investigation of patent infringement issues. If the batch of five-leaf fans you purchased from Hongwei appear in a store in London, I am worried, your The company will get in trouble for that."

"What you said is true?" Black's face changed suddenly, he knew too well what it meant to distribute infringing goods.

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(End of this chapter)