Lu Yiming couldn't help but smile when he saw the court summons.

The executives in the office were all frightened the moment they saw the court summons.

In the 1980s and 1990s, most people were still in awe of so-called authoritative institutions like the courts, and they would try their best to avoid lawsuits. Therefore, when they saw this court summons, their first reaction was, obviously

Did Yuan Group really commit a crime?

Lu Yiming raised the court summons to everyone and said with a smile: "This Shihan Company is really very proactive. In just a few days, it has already received all the court summons."

Song Honglin asked worriedly: "Mr. Lu, what should we do now? Are we going to recall all MP3 players?"

"Recall for what? Since Shihan wants to file a lawsuit with us, then we can just fight them. What are we afraid of?"

Song Honglin said with a mournful face: "Mr. Lu, infringement will result in a lot of compensation..."

In fact, the situation is worse than Song Honglin thought. Now it is not just about money. Many people read newspapers and talk shows and directly and subconsciously regard Mingyuan Technology as a copycat company with no technical content.

.

Even many people in the company who have no contact with R&D think so.

After all, in the subconscious mind of people of this era, Xia Guo can only copy others' wisdom, and the so-called technology is definitely plagiarism.

Moreover, at this time in China, copycats can be said to be crazy. They are no longer limited to the so-called technological field, but have penetrated into all aspects of life.

For example, if you go to the store downstairs to buy White Rabbit toffee, you might accidentally buy White Rabbit toffee-free candies.

So much so that the common people who have suffered so much have a deep hatred for counterfeit goods, and have almost formed a conditioned reflex.

It is precisely because of this that when everyone heard that Mingyuan Technology had plagiarized, everyone's first reaction was to boycott Mingyuan Technology. No one checked the authenticity of this statement. Nowadays, the situation of Mingyuan Technology is extremely serious.

Dangerous.

"Even if we win the lawsuit, it will be difficult for us to change people's first impression."

"This is a dead end. The enemy cleverly used the media offensive and preconceived impressions to directly give Mingyuan Technology a hard blow."

In the face of everyone's comments, Lu Yiming comforted him: "Don't panic, we haven't started fighting yet, do you think I will lose?"

In the conference room, only Lu Yiming's eyes remained firm as ever.

No matter what kind of opponents and difficulties he faces, he will never bow his head or admit defeat.

Now that he was in a dead situation, it only aroused his heroic ambition - let the storm come more violently!

Someone asked: "Mr. Lu, I have read all those newspapers. Now that the court summons has been issued, is our product infringing?"

Lu Yiming didn't shy away from it, nodded slightly and said, "Yes."

Such a frank answer immediately caused quite a commotion in the conference room.

"Is it really an infringement?"

"Then this lawsuit is bound to be lost, isn't it?"

"Do we have to pay a lot of money in compensation?"

"Will the company go bankrupt? To be honest, I quite like working here."

"What can I do?"

Everyone who had no confidence in filing lawsuits with foreign-funded companies became even more panicked after hearing this answer. The status of private companies in the Xia Kingdom was very embarrassing. They were state-owned companies that the grandma did not care for and loved, and the internal welfare benefits were not as good as those of the eldest son.

Enterprises are far inferior to foreign companies in terms of preferential policies.

If a dispute does arise, the authorities are not sure who to help.

Lu Yiming waved his hands slightly and said calmly: "Don't panic, everyone. Although our MP3 products infringe on some existing relevant patents, they have nothing to do with the Shihan Group in the United States. Therefore, this court summons from the Shihan Group is basically

It’s of no use.”

Cheng Xiaohua, the technical director in charge of hardware development, stood up at the right time and explained to everyone: "Our Tianyin MP3 is a new product independently developed and has nothing to do with the Shihan Group. It mainly involves the Thomson Group of China.

, Royal Philips in the Netherlands, AT&T in the United States and other major European and American companies."

Although the first commercial MP3 player was produced by Bang Guo, the related patented technology was actually born as early as 1988, and the MP3 standard was formulated shortly thereafter. What are the major manufacturers in related fields?

Research institutions have joined in, building strong patent barriers.

Among modern technology companies, no company dares to say that it has never infringed on patents. We often have a relationship where you are part of me and you are part of me. It is nothing more than a hassle to litigate.

Lu Yiming continued what Cheng Xiaohua said: "At present, the main holder of MP3 patents is the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany. I will find a way to get the relevant authorization, so I will work with Bangkok."

The lawsuit is actually not the key."

After speaking clearly, everyone was finally appeased for the time being.

Although everyone is still not optimistic about the MP3 project, Lu Yiming is the boss and Zheng Youyuan is not here, so no one can stop him from going his own way.

After the meeting, Lu Yiming was about to leave when Song Honglin rushed to his side in three steps.

"Mr. Lu, wait a moment."

"What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

"Um, Mr. Lu, do you really have a way to get the mp3 patent license?"

Song Honglin asked cautiously, staring at Lu Yiming, trying to see through his true thoughts.

However, what left him speechless was that Lu Yiming shook his head directly and said: "I definitely can't do anything about it for a while. Foreigners always have their eyes high. We, a Xiaguo enterprise, went to negotiate, and we were afraid that we wouldn't even be able to get through the door."

I'm going to be kicked out by security."

Song Honglin was dumbfounded when he heard this answer: "Mr. Lu, now is not the time to joke."

Lu Yiming still had a relaxed expression on his face: "I'm not kidding, but although I can't help it, there are people who can."

"who?"

"Bill Gates."

"..."

Back in the office, Lu Yiming specially calculated the time and made a call to Bill Gates at 11 o'clock in the morning.

At this moment, it is eight o'clock in the evening Seattle time.

"Good evening, Bill. We haven't contacted each other for a while since we parted ways in America."

"Good evening, Lu, how have you been lately?"

Bill Gates also values ​​Lu Yiming as a partner. After all, the cooperation on the USB flash drive project has made him a lot of money, and he has even ordered that the functions of the USB flash drive be integrated into the next generation of Windows systems.

Lu Yiming said: "Thanks to you, I have been doing pretty well recently."

After a few pleasantries, Lu Yiming went straight to the point: "Bill, I have a new project in hand right now. I wonder if you are interested in it?"

Bill Gates laughed and said: "I am interested in any project that can make money."

"You are so direct, but I like it."

Lu Yiming joked, and then continued: "I have made a gadget now, MP3, have you heard of it? Your American company, Diamond, recently had a lawsuit with the record company because of this matter."

Bill Gates was really impressed by this, so he nodded and asked: "Why, are you planning to do this too?"

"why not?"

Lu Yiming smiled slightly and said, "How is it? Are you interested in joining the team?"

He wanted to recruit Bill Gates to join him. After all, someone had to help with the patent matters.

However, what Lu Yiming didn't expect was that Bill Gates actually rejected his proposal.

"The Imperial Alliance has done a pretty good job, I don't think you can compete with him."

Fortunately, it is not that Lu Yiming has not considered this situation. He knows very well that old foxes like Bill Gates have always been the ones who don't let go of the rabbit before they see it.

"What if I tell you that Steve Jobs is also working on MP3 players? Do you think Diamond will be Apple's rival?"

"Oh, by the way, their macosx operating system is almost ready..."

Apple, which has lost its leader Qiao, is naturally vulnerable to Microsoft.

However, Bill Gates couldn't help but be wary of Gang Leader Qiao who chose to return to Apple. The two were both enemies and close friends, and the grievances and hatreds between them would probably last three days and three nights.

But no matter what, Bill Gates still recognized Gang Leader Qiao's talents very much. He knew that he was a marketing genius, and he might be able to turn around Microsoft's old rival Apple.

At this time, in order to avoid being broken up due to antitrust laws, Microsoft really needs a "competitor".

But in order to maintain its dominance in the operating system, this "competitor" must not be too strong.

So Bill Gates needs someone to help him deal with Gang Leader Joe.

"Can you handle Steve Jobs?"

Bill Gates' tone was a bit doubtful. He obviously didn't think Lu Yiming had this ability.

Lu Yiming didn't take this seriously: "Whether you can or can't, you'll know if you try it, right? What's more, even in the worst case scenario, I can at least help you contain some of his energy and slow down Apple's development.

.”

"What do you need me to do?"

After pondering for a moment, Bill Gates finally chose to agree to Lu Yiming's request. After all, this would bring no loss to Microsoft.
To be continued...