"140 Automatic Knife Switching System (Seeking Recommendation Tickets, Monthly Tickets)"

  Lin Zhenhua, of course, would not hand over the thing without asking clearly. He inquired about various related matters to Qian Yuanping in detail, and at the same time, he compared Qian's answers with what Schumann had just told him and some knowledge he brought from later generations. After listening for half a day, he began to be convinced that this Qian Yuanping should be a very trustworthy patent agent and could be entrusted.

  According to Qian Yuanping, since the Chinese mainland has not yet joined international conventions such as the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, enterprises or individuals on the mainland face many problems when applying for international patents. However, these problems are not insurmountable, and through some unconventional means, they can also get their patent applications approved, ensuring that the rights of patent holders are not infringed upon.

  After introducing the relevant matters, Qian Yuanping took out a stack of documents and asked Lin Zhenhua to review them one by one, then sign and seal them. With these documents, Qian Yuanping could fully represent Lin Zhenhua in applying for patents. Lin Zhenhua put away the power of attorney contract he had signed with Qian Yuanping, and only then handed over the design drawings of the five-leaf fan and other documents to Qian Yuanping.

  The patent for the five-leaf fan was applied for in Lin Zhenhua's personal name. When Liu Xianghai gave him the design drawings, he said it was as a thank you to him, so he fully owned the rights to this design. He wouldn't be foolish enough to apply for the patent under the company's name, because the company is jointly operated, and once the patent is registered under the company's name, future troubles will emerge one after another.

  When applying for patents in various countries, a total of $0 is required to be paid as patent application fees. In addition, attorney fees of $z must also be paid to Qian Yuanping for handling the patent applications. All this money has already been discussed with Ford by Lin Zhenhua and will be paid from his own funds in Hong Kong. After returning to Hong Kong, Qian Yuanping can go to the Hong Kong office of the American Spieshel company to get the money from Ford.

  "Alright, Manager Lin, I hope our cooperation goes smoothly." Qian Yuanping gathered all the documents and stood up to bid farewell to Lin Zhenhua.

  "Mr. Qian, wait a minute." Lin Zhenhua stopped Qian Yuanping in his tracks.

  Qian Yuanping said in surprise: "Is there anything else, Manager Lin?"

  Lin Zhenhua took out another thick envelope from his bag and said to Qian Yuanping: "Mr. Qian, actually, I invited you here today because there are two product patents that need your help. The one we just discussed is the five-leaf fan patent. Now, I'd like to trouble you with another product called the CNC Tree-type Automatic Tool Changer System."

  This machine tool automatic tool changing system is Professor Yao Heliang of Huaqiao University's Mechanical Engineering Department's painstaking effort.

  The last time Lin Zhenhua sent Xiaofang to Huqing for reporting, he met Yao Heliang and asked him about the research results. At that time, Yao Heliang had a design of an automatic tool-changing system for machine tools in his hand, which reached the current world advanced level and has a very broad application prospect in the machine tool industry.

  Yao Heliang was looking for a mechanical department to accept this technology and turn it into a real product. However, the business under the eyelids of various departments was very busy, and no one had time to pay attention to such things, so Lao Ye's design was shelved in the drawer for a whole year.

  Lin Zhenhua mentioned the idea of "production, study and research" to Yao Helang, who began to feel a little moved. With an attitude of benevolence and righteousness, he went around various departments again, but still ended up with nothing. At this point, he no longer waited and directly sent the drawings to Lin Zhenhua. Yao Helang had only one request for Lin Zhenhua, which was to make this design a real product and let it play a role in the machinery industry.

  Lin Zhenhua certainly knew the value of this product in real history. Yao Heliang's design ultimately did not see the light, but a Japanese manufacturer designed the same product several years later and applied for a patent first. Later, any machine tool enterprise that wanted to use this design on their machine tools had to pay a patent fee of $1 per unit to the Japanese manufacturer. It is estimated that the Japanese manufacturer earned hundreds of millions of dollars in patent fees from this design alone over several decades.

  Lin Zhenhua's first thought after receiving the drawings sent by Yao Heliang was to apply for a patent as soon as possible, plugging any potential loopholes. As for how to sell this product, that came second.

  "Are you saying that this patent should be applied for in the name of Mr. Yao Heliang from Huazhong University?" Qian Yuanping asked.

  Lin Zhenhua nodded and said, "That's right, this is a product he designed."

  Qian Yuanping asked: "Excuse me, does Manager Lin have a letter of authorization from Mr. Yao?"

  "No."

  "That's going to be difficult." Qian Yuanping furrowed his brow and said, "We're acting on behalf of the client, without their authorization it won't do. If we end up in court later, it'll be hard to handle."

  Lin Zhenhua said, "Attorney Qian, you also know the situation on the mainland. Professor Yao is an old-fashioned person and it's still difficult for him to accept this patent application thing. My idea is to first get the patent application down, and then slowly talk to him about it. This kind of patent application thing can't be delayed for a minute, or else someone will steal the show and we'll lose everything."

  Qian Yuanping thought for a moment and said, "Manager Lin, this matter cannot be done without Mr. Yao's authorization. But if you think you can represent Mr. Yao, why not apply in your own name first? After obtaining the patent right, you can also transfer it to Mr. Yao."

  "But is this appropriate? Am I infringing on their rights by doing so?" Lin Zhenhua asked.

  Qian Yuanping held the letter written by Yao Heliang to Lin Zhenhua and analyzed it word by word: "Manager Lin, look, Mr. Yao clearly stated in the letter that this product is completely handed over to you. This 'handover' can be considered a transfer of patent rights. Therefore, applying for this patent in your own name does not involve infringement. Mr. Yao also said that he hopes you will benefit the country after obtaining this product. This can be considered a clause in the transfer agreement, meaning that as long as you use this patent right to do something for the country in the future, it is considered fulfillment of the promise. Of course, this is also based on the premise that you and Mr. Yao have a good relationship. If there are conflicts between you, some things will be difficult to say."

  "Alright then." Lin Zhenhua nodded "Let's do as Lawyer Qian said, after the patent application is approved, I'll write a letter to Professor Yao to explain things, he's quite open-minded about this sort of thing, shouldn't blame me."

  Qian Yuanping opened his bag again, took out a stack of forms identical to the previous one and had Lin Zhenhua sign them once more. Then he carefully put away the technical documents that Lin handed over to him.

  After completing the patent application for the automatic knife changing system, Lin Zhenhua said: "Attorney Qian, I'd like to ask you another favor related to this automatic knife changing system."

  "Manager Lin, please advise." said Qian Yuanping.

  Lin Zhenhua said: "The automatic knife switching system I entrusted to you now is just one of the technologies of Huqing University. As far as I know, there are many similar technologies in the hands of professors at Huqing University, and I am in contact with them, striving to urge them to bring out their technologies and apply for patents as soon as possible."

  "This is a wonderful thing." said Qian Yuanping.

  "Manager Lin is truly a visionary. Alas, I have been working as a patent agent in Hong Kong for many years and sometimes see that our countrymen have the technology but do not know to apply for patent protection, it's really frustrating. Many good technologies are taken away by foreigners for free. It's not just that they take advantage of us, but also turn around and accuse Chinese people of infringing their rights. Cases like this have emerged quite a few times in the past two years."

  Lin Zhenhua said, "That's right, I saw this point" so anxious to launch patent application. Lawyer Qian, currently my ability is limited, in other fields may not have set foot, but mechanical field "I plan to do a good job."

  "So, what does Manager Lin want me to do?"

  "I would like to hire Lawyer Qian in Hong Kong to employ several people who understand the industry to comprehensively investigate the global mechanical product patent application situation, including relevant legal regulations and current patented technologies."

  Qian Yuanping shook his head: "The first item is no problem, but the second item is too difficult. Mechanical patents are not as numerous as the stars in the sky, at least they are like a vast ocean. To search through all these materials completely is probably unrealistic."

  Lin Zhenhua thought for a moment and felt that Qian Yuanping was also right. He wanted to swallow everything in one mouthful, which was too impatient. He nodded and said: "Then let's limit it again. Regarding the patent situation of machine tools, especially those that have been shaken up in the past, I need more detailed information. As long as you can find any information, just let someone copy it down for me. Money is no problem."

  "This might cost a lot of money," Yuanping Qian said.

  Lin Zhenhua said, "Let Lawyer Qian help me assess it. See how much money is needed and I will pay you gradually. Lawyer Qian, if this matter is handled well, in the future we can seize opportunities to develop new patents. Will we still worry about not being able to recover these information fees?"

  Qian Yuanping praised: "Manager Lin is indeed a big deal, now there are few people with vision to invest in this matter. Don't worry, I'll go back and use my connections to find a few such people, let them try it out first, then I'll report the specific expenses to Manager Lin."

  Lin Zhenhua said, "Then thank you, Lawyer Qian. The initial start-up costs, I will let Mr. Ford pay to you, plus the agency fees for these two patents, do you think $10,000 is enough?"

  "In the past, it was more than enough," said Qian Yuanping. He sighed again and said: "Manager Lin, now on the mainland, if you have $10,000, you can live a comfortable life as a rich man. But Manager Lin is willing to spend money in this area, looking at the returns for the next few decades. This really makes people admire him. If all the company managers on the mainland had the same vision as Manager Lin, I think it won't take 10 years for the mainland's economy to become impressive."

  Lin Zhenhua smiled and said, "Hehe, can't bear to part with the child, can't bear to part with the daughter-in-law... cough, that's all. These two patent matters still need to be entrusted to Lawyer Qian to handle as soon as possible. I don't know how long it will take to get them done."

  Qian Yuanping said: "The five-leaf fan belongs to the practical new type, if it is fast, it should be approved within half a year. The automatic knife switching system takes longer, and the publicity period alone requires 18 months. However, during this period, Manager Lin can start production and sales if he is anxious."

  "I understand, thank you for your guidance, Lawyer Qian." Lin Zhenhua said sincerely.

  "No need to be polite, Manager Lin. If you need anything, just contact me," Qian Yuanping said before hurrying away. He had a hard time getting in and out of the gate, and he still had other things to take care of.

  Watching Yuanping Qian walk away, Shuman said to Lin Zhenhua with a slightly resentful tone: "Manager Lin, I really didn't expect that your heart would be so big. Why didn't you tell me clearly beforehand?"

  "What do you mean by saying that my heart is very big?" Lin Zhenhua asked in confusion.

  "The automatic knife switching system, this patented technology was developed by a professor from Huazhong University. From what I understand, you plan to acquire a large number of technologies from Huazhong University and turn them into your own patents. Currently, our domestic officials and investors still can't see the value in patents, but when they wake up to it in the future, you'll already be holding hundreds of patents in your hands. By then, your family's assets won't just be a few tens or hundreds of thousands, but possibly even tens of millions."

  Lin Zhenhua smiled to himself, thinking that Su Man's imagination was still too limited. It was no wonder, with her monthly salary of 50 or 60 yuan, a few hundred million was already an unimaginable astronomical figure. How could she possibly think of more? Lin Zhenhua knew that just this one automatic knife-switching system patent would be able to earn him millions of dollars in royalties within the next three years. If he really held hundreds of patents, then earning billions of dollars wouldn't be a dream.

  "How about it, has your mind moved now?" Lin Zhenhua did not answer Su Man's question directly, but instead asked her.

  "What's gotten into you?" Schumann said, but his heart was thumping wildly in disagreement.

  Lin Zhenhua said: "When I was the manager of my Guangzhou office."

  Schumann's face turned red, and she found herself a bit crooked: "Hmm, I really have some heart. Manager Lin, I want to ask, if I really become the manager of your Guangzhou office, how much salary can I get per month?"

  Lin Zhenhua said: "At least, it's no problem to be more than twice your current salary."

  "My current salary is 62 yuan, but we also have extra income, you know." Schumann said with a haggle.

  "Plus overtime pay, can I get 1,000 yuan a month?"

  "It would be enough if I had 100 yuan." Shuman sighed.

  "Hmm, I think that if you're willing to let the Guangzhou office manager go, a salary of 2,000 yuan should still be affordable." Lin Zhenhua said seriously.

  Lin Zhenhua is not bragging, someone with Schumann's talent is indeed what he lacks now. He is currently considering Hanhua Company's outward-oriented strategy, and the biggest bottleneck encountered is the lack of personnel with foreign affairs experience. If Schumann is willing to join, it would be a very good thing. As for the salary of 200 yuan, it seems high at present, but in a few years, what will this price be worth?

  "Really can give 200 yuan?" Schumann asked very seriously.

  "You're kidding." Lin Zhenhua said with a smile.

  "Alright, I'll think about it."

  "I'll reserve this position for you for a year," said Lin Zhenhua.