Three days later, downstairs of the Registrar's Office, Queen's Road East, Wan Chai.
Lin Sanqi was wearing a suit. He looked like Little K at first glance, with a face full of curiosity and confidence.
Uncle Lin Wu and Uncle Lin Six who followed behind were a little unsure.
They smuggled themselves to Xiangjiang last year. They had not long obtained Xiangjiang status. Some of them were afraid of being deported. Sometimes they would take the initiative to avoid military uniforms patrolling the streets, which fully demonstrated the timidity of the Chinese people.
No matter which country they go to, Chinese people have one characteristic, that is, they don't like to deal with the government. They are afraid that the government will eat the plaintiff and the defendant, and in the end they will be eaten until no bones are left.
"Qizai, what kind of patent are you really going to apply for? If these two medicines of yours are very useful, will others intercept you and apply for them yourself secretly?"
Lin Sanqi thought that this was really possible. According to the information he had checked, Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s was very dark.
Not only are social groups running rampant, but the Hong Kong Royal Police and the colonial government are also greedy and do not follow any rules at all.
It was not until the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption in 1974 that this kind of corruption began to be slowly adjusted. However, the collusion between police and criminals was still normalized. It just moved from the ground to the underground, right Han Chen.
"Uncle Five and Six, our Lingnan Hall opens a traditional Chinese medicine clinic on Temple Street. Do we need to pay protection fees to the society?"
Uncle Lin Wu complained:
"Why don't you have to pay? Not only do you have to pay a protection fee to the society, but you also have to pay a tea fee to the police, so that the medical center can open safely. If you don't pay this money, both black and white will cause trouble for you, no matter what business. No need to do it.”
Lin Sanqi thought to herself, this is indeed the same as in the movie and novel.
However, there are advantages and disadvantages to corruption. Without money, it is difficult for you to move forward. If you work in the government, you may encounter "difficult to get in, ugly face, ugly words, and difficult things to do."
But conversely, what if you have money? So no rules are rules, no restrictions are restrictions, and the efficiency of the other party can be as high as it wants.
Thinking of this, Lin Sanqi touched his briefcase. In addition to drug information, there were also many envelopes containing Hong Kong dollars of different denominations.
The office building of the Xiangjiang Registration Office is not large. There is a hall after entering the door, with a row of cabinets and a group of white-collar workers sitting behind the cabinets.
There are service signs hanging on the cabinet, which read: Trademark Registration Office, Patent Registration Office, Design Registration Office, and Copyright Registration Office.
You can go to different counters to see what patents you want to apply for, which is very clear in 2023.
Lin Sanqi couldn't find the drug patent application counter. Thinking about it, it should be the "Patent Registration Office", right? So he sat down on the chair.
There was a young girl with four eyes on the counter. She saw a young K sitting down and asked in a business-like manner:
"Hello sir, may I help you?"
"Hello, pretty girl, I want to register two western medicine patents."
"Drug patents? When will our pharmaceutical factories in Xiangjiang also have research and development capabilities?"
Lin Sanqi's words instantly attracted the attention of all the staff in the office, and everyone raised their heads. This was actually the first time that the Registrar General's Office had encountered such a situation in so many years of operation.
"Yes, drug patent, this is my information."
Lin Sanqi took out a thick piece of printing paper from the bag and put it on the cabinet. She could still smell the strong smell of ink. All the words on it were in English.
All these materials were prepared by three doctoral students for Lin Sanqi, and they were filled in according to the format required for patent applications.
Lin Sanqi can't just use the printed information from 2023. The paper and ink are different.
The paper in 1960 was not standard A4 paper, and mechanical typewriters were used these days, where letters were typed out one by one, making a clicking sound.
For this reason, Lin Sanqi asked a printing shop to reprint them all, which cost 300 yuan.
The four-eyed girl's lenses flashed as she took the information and looked at it: "Rifucot, ethambutol? Come to think of it, I really haven't heard of it."
After saying that, the four-eyed girl took out another catalog and checked it.
In 1960, computers were not yet implemented for office work, and everything required manual proofreading, especially patent applications, because the work was too cumbersome, and various regions and countries were not uniformly connected to the Internet.
Therefore, there is a directory similar to the "telephone yellow pages" for staff to make preliminary inquiries.
After a long time, the four-eyed girl raised her head and said with a smile:
"A miracle has really happened in Xiangjiang. At least as of last year, no one has applied for patents on these two drugs, at least no one has applied for them here in Xiangjiang."
At this time, another man in a suit who looked like a leader came over out of curiosity:
"Sir, which pharmaceutical company are you from? Drug research and development requires a large investment. This is the first time that our Xiangjiang pharmaceutical company has filed a drug patent application."
Lin Sanqi took out another business card from his briefcase and handed it over with both hands:
"We are from Lingnan Tang Pharmaceutical Company. This is my business card. Please take care of me."
Lingnan Tang Pharmaceutical Company is a leather goods company that Lin Sanqi has just entrusted an intermediary to register. The registration place is in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic on Temple Street. On the business card, Lin Sanqi's name is the general manager of Lingnan Tang Pharmaceutical Company.
Hong Kong is a free port. The procedures for setting up a company in Hong Kong are very simple. There are so many leather goods companies. This is similar to the country in 2023.
From this aspect, we can see that Hong Kong’s economic prosperity in the 1960s was very dynamic.
The man in the suit took the business card and thought for a long time but couldn't remember any Lingnan Tang Pharmaceutical Company in Xiangjiang. However, he quickly figured out that this should be a newly established leather bag company that was used to apply for patents.
The patent is separated from the company, an operation that is common in the business world.
The man in the suit asked again: "Mr. Lin, what are the two drugs you applied for treating?"
Lin Sanqi replied politely: "Rifampicin is an antibacterial drug and ethambutol is a tuberculosis bacteriostatic drug. These two drugs are mainly used for the treatment of tuberculosis."
When the staff of the General Registration Office heard this, they were not as surprised as Lin Sanqi expected, and they shouted "Si Guoyi".
This made Lin Sanqi a little surprised. She thought that tuberculosis is the number one killer of infectious diseases. It is not only serious in China, it is also very serious abroad. How come I have come out with a killer drug, and your reaction is so dull?
In fact, this group of Xiangjiang staff cannot be blamed.
After all, Lin Sanqi has a God's perspective and knows that the tuberculosis quadruple therapy composed of rifampicin and ethambutol is a disruptive therapy for the treatment of tuberculosis and has changed the course of human diseases.
But the staff at the Hong Kong Registration Office don’t understand it, not to mention how many types of anti-tuberculosis drugs are on the market. Everyone is not surprised.
This is actually a good thing for Lin Sanqi, so that he will not attract attention and be targeted by others.
The four-eyed girl started to go through the work process. After taking Lin Sanqi's information, she started to fill in the form, enter it, etc., and finally said:
"Mr. Lin, the scope of drug patent registration is now divided into regional patents and international patents.
If it is a regional patent, it will only be recognized and protected by us in Hong Kong.
If you apply for an Eagle Country patent, it will be recognized by all member states in accordance with the provisions of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the European Patent Convention and the Patent Cooperation Treaty. ”
Lin Sanqi asked: "What are the member states?"
"If it is an international patent, it is currently recognized by basically all developed countries and Commonwealth countries, including the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Japan, West Germany, India, etc., a total of 56 countries."
"I applied for an international patent."
Lin Sanqi doesn't care about the Commonwealth countries. They are all poor countries. Even a big country like India, you want to ask them to charge patent fees? Stop dreaming.
What Lin Sanqi values is all developed countries. This is a big piece of fat, and it is also the main purpose of his troubled trip to Xiangjiang this time.
A patent filed in Xiangjiang is equivalent to a patent filed in Eagle Country, and can be recognized and protected by all developed countries.
Four Eyes Girl Mechanization begins to preach the policy:
"Okay, if you apply for an international patent, the annual patent fee is 500 pounds and must be paid every year. Failure to pay will be regarded as a waiver. In addition, the patent investigation period takes 18 months, please be patient."
< br>
Lin Sanqi doesn't care about 500 pounds, it's a small matter for a few gold bars, but the patent investigation period takes 18 months, and Lin Sanqi can't wait.
Because he checked the information on the computer, the two drugs rifampicin and ethambutol were originally launched in 1965.
If nothing else happens, the patent applications for rifampicin and ethambutol should have been in 1962 or 1963, and they should still be in the clinical trial stage.
But this is an optimistic estimate without any surprises. What if someone applies in advance in 2020 or 1961?
Then Lin Sanqi was trying to fetch water from a bamboo basket but in vain.
Therefore, Lin Sanqi must rush ahead of European and American pharmaceutical companies, get the patent, cut them off, and suffocate them to death.
After they spent a lot of money, a lot of manpower and material resources, they finally successfully developed the drug and even published the paper. But as soon as they applied for a patent, someone else got it first?
Of course, they will definitely file a patent objection and can file a lawsuit.
The problem is that the patent application materials that Lin Sanqi has produced are all plagiarized from theirs. It means that the materials of both parties are exactly the same, but the time is different. How can the other party explain? ?
Lin Sanqi had already produced complete drug clinical trial data and filed a drug patent application in 1960. You were still conducting Phase I clinical trials in 1960. Who copied whom?
As long as there is a little bit of legal spirit and contract spirit, European and American courts will definitely not support the other party to win the case.
Of course, there is another situation. If Lin Sanqi is a mainland citizen, then European and American courts will definitely safeguard their own interests. If they are shameless and start acting like gangsters, they will judge European and American pharmaceutical companies to win.
But now that Lin Sanqi is a resident of Xiangjiang, he is equivalent to half a citizen of the Eagle Kingdom, and theoretically counts as one of their own, so there is no reason to judge him as a loser.
Therefore, the faster the time from application to confirmation of a patent is, the better. If it is too slow, there is a fear of unintended consequences and unexpected changes.
Don't overestimate the moral and legal bottom lines of Europeans and Americans. As long as they have interests, they will dare to withdraw Lin Sanqi's application halfway, replace the civet cat with the prince, replace it with his own application and pass it.
At that time, Lin Sanqi had no place to cry. Lin Sanqi quietly took out an envelope from his briefcase with 2,000 Hong Kong dollars in it.
In 1960, the average monthly salary of people in Hong Kong was about HK$200. Even if the Registrar General was a white-collar worker, the income of a government employee would not exceed HK$300.
2,000 Hong Kong dollars is equivalent to half a year's income of an ordinary white-collar worker. It is thick or thin.
Lin Sanqi pretended to hand over some more paper: "Madam, I forgot some information just now, here it is."
The four-eyed girl was a little strange. She took a few pages of paper and then found a beige envelope sandwiched among the papers. She touched it and quickly put it in the drawer.
Then the four-eyed girl's attitude became quite good, and she whispered to Lin Sanqi:
"Sir, what do you want?"
"Madam, I won't embarrass you, but the 18-month patent investigation period is too long. Is there any way to shorten it?"
The four-eyed girl thought for a moment and continued softly:
"I can help you get it done in Xiangjiang within three days, but I need my boss to do it in Yingguo. If he is willing to help, I believe he can apply for a patent certificate for you within a month."
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In the drug patent application process, the patent office will first conduct a preliminary review of the applied drug.
The main content is to review the patent request, description, drawings, abstract and other contents to ensure that they comply with the provisions of the law and do not conflict with other similar patents.
This process can be fast or slow.
The four-eyed girl is in charge of the preliminary review. If she wants to hurry up, she can just stamp and pass without reading the content. These three days are considered as reserved time. In fact, she can get it done in one day with overtime work.
After passing the preliminary review, a substantive review of the drug is required.
The content is to review the formula, production process, stability, effect, etc. of the drug. This is very formal.
At the same time, because of the particularity of international patents, it is necessary to communicate with patent agencies in various countries and ask whether there are similar patent applications in other countries.
If there are no similar patent applications in other countries, it will be simple.
If there are patent applications for similar drugs in other countries, additional patent comparisons will be required to determine whether there may be a patent conflict.
And because the people in the patent office are not pharmaceutical-related professionals, the entire difficult process requires communication with R&D personnel.
If you go back and forth like this, you won't be able to get it done in a year or two.
Of course, this process can also be cheated, and it is very simple to operate. As long as you make sure that there are no similar patents in other countries, the Xiangjiang Registration Office or the superior Yingguo Intellectual Property Office can directly pass it.
There is no need for laboratory re-examination at all, and there is no need to ask a team of experts for repeated evaluations.
Anyway, it does not matter to the Patent Office or the General Registration Office of Hong Kong whether the drug patent is genuine and whether it can protect the interests of the applicant.
The information was given by you. If others take advantage of patent loopholes in the future, it is because you are not rigorous, not because the patent office is not rigorous...
So as long as you have money, you can apply for patents as fast as you want. Crows are as black as crows in the world. Don’t talk about foreign countries being clean. People are greedy for money, especially those with a little power. It depends on who can clean up troubles. Stronger.
When it comes to foreign integrity, you should watch the American TV series "House of Cards", "The Mayor of Kingston", "The Fringe", etc. They are all very dark.
Those who play politics and those who are officials are extremely dirty.
Especially Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s...
Lin Sanqi asked in a low voice: "Who is your boss? How should I collude with him?"
The four-eyed girl was very fond of this handsome little K. Maybe she was used to pimping, so she reminded:
"The gentleman over there drinking coffee is my boss, Sir Wen Wenyao. I will call him over later. In that room, you just need to give him this number."
After saying that, the four-eyed girl stretched out her palm. Lin Sanqi understood and nodded gently: "Sorry to trouble you."
The four-eyed girl gave Lin Sanqi a wink, then stood up and shouted:
"Sir Wen, Mr. Lin has some patent matters to consult with you."
Wen Wenyao nodded, put down his coffee and walked over, making a gesture to Lin Sanqi:
"Mr. Lin, please come and sit in our rest area for a while. If you have any questions, I will try my best to answer them."
Lin Sanqi laughed and said: "Sorry, Sir Wen."
A quarter of an hour later, Lin Sanqi and Wen Wenyao stood up with smiles and shook hands. No one knew that there was an envelope of HKD 5,000 in Sir Wen's suit pocket.
"Don't worry, Mr. Lin, I will take care of your two drug patents. It can take as soon as two weeks or as short as one month. I will definitely bring you good news."
Lin Sanqi smiled and made an excuse:
"Sir Wen, I have plans to go to the United States for a business trip recently. If the patent is issued and I am not in Xiangjiang, please call the number on my business card and have someone pick up the patent certificate."
"It's easy to talk about. It seems that Mr. Lin's business is very big."
Wen Wenyao was polite on the surface, but he was secretly trying to evaluate whether the young rich man in front of him was worth getting to know.
Lin Sanqi has traveled through two eras and has long since learned to tell people's stories and ghosts. Lies can come out just by opening his mouth:
"Sir Wen, you don't know something. On the surface, the pharmaceutical industry is quite profitable. In fact, the investment is too huge. If you are not careful, you will go bankrupt. In order to fight for business, I have invested more than one billion Hong Kong dollars in drug research and development. This will inevitably happen in the future. I always have to trouble Sir Wen.”
Wen Wenyao thought to himself that this was indeed a big water pipe and worth getting along with.
Lin Sanqi thought to herself, this is a greedy fish. As long as it is fed, will it open a back door for future patent applications? We must win over and increase the stakes.
By this time, both parties had reached the stairs. Wen Wenyao came to see Lin Sanqi off politely.
Lin Sanqi saw that there was no one around, and took out a small wooden box from her backpack:
"Sir Wen, here is a 50-year-old Northeastern wild ginseng. You can take it back to replenish your body."
Wen Wenyao was overjoyed when he heard this. Even though he received a British education, he still admired traditional Chinese medicine in his heart.
These days, due to the closure of the mainland, the export of wild ginseng from Northeast China has stopped. It is difficult to buy authentic wild ginseng here in Xiangjiang. A 50-year-old ginseng costs at least 30,000 to 40,000 Hong Kong dollars, so Lin Sanqi's move can be said to be a A big deal.
"Ah, brother Lin, I, how can I be so embarrassed."
"Brother Wen, there is no need to be polite as soon as we brothers hit it off. I will often trouble you from now on, brother."
"Wherever, it's easy to talk."
"Hehehe~~~~"
Coming out of the General Registration Office, Uncle Lin Wu and Uncle Six looked at Lin Sanqi with a bit of disdain:
"Where did you learn this trick? Your father is an upright man, and your eldest brother is also an upright gentleman. How come you have become so glib?"
Lin Sanqi shrugged:
"I just spent money to buy a VIP service. It's just like going to an amusement park. Others have to queue up. I spent money to buy a 'U-Speed Pass'. This is not normal. As long as money can solve things, it is Little things.”
Uncle Lin shook his head helplessly: "Yes, it seems that you will have to be the head of the Lin family from now on. The family is indispensable for such scheming elements."
After returning to the medical clinic on Temple Street, Lin Sanqi invited his fifth and sixth uncles into the inner room and closed the door.
"Fifth uncle, sixth uncle, I won't be able to stay in Xiangjiang for a few days before I have to go back. I have some things to explain to you.
These are four secret recipes. This one is the secret recipe of Angong Niuhuang Pill, and this one is the secret recipe of Pien Tze Huang. You should have heard how precious these two medicines are. These pictures are the production methods, you will burn them after you remember them.
There is also a secret recipe called Stop Blood Flow, which is more effective than Yunnan Baiyao. It can be used for injuries caused by bruises and can stop bleeding within a few minutes. There are many clubs in Xiangjiang, and there are often fights on the streets. This medicine is definitely suitable for them.
The last secret recipe is called Aaoaoaoao, which is for men to cheer up. What are the specific effects? You can also try it, hehe. ”
Uncle Lin Wu and Uncle Lin Six stared at the recipe and screamed for it, their eyes gleaming.
Lin Sanqi coughed a few times:
"You must keep these four secret recipes. You can make medicines based on the secret recipes and sell them. I see that our Lingnan Tang Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic does not have many patients. These four secret recipes can become our secret weapons. I believe it will be very helpful to our business.
In ancient and modern times, at home and abroad, if any Chinese medicine clinic wants to become famous, it must have its own special skills.
Since the real owner Lin Sophora flavescens did not come to Xiangjiang Lingnan Tang Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic, Uncle Lin Wu and Uncle Six could only perform ordinary Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment. Their medical skills were not outstanding, so it was naturally impossible to attract patients.
Now that Lin Sanqi has given them four secret recipes, I believe that Lingnan Hall will soon become famous in Hong Kong.
"Qizai, don't worry. Big brother asked you to bring these secret recipes. We will not let him down. When you come to Xiangjiang next time, just wait and see. Our Lingnan Hall will definitely become the best and largest in Kowloon." ”
At this time, Lin Sanqi took out ten wild ginseng branches from the back room:
"Uncle Five and Six, these are 10 hundred-year-old wild ginseng. If you put them in the store, whether it is to support the facade or sell them to the rich, this will be a great influence on the reputation and strength of our Lingnan Hall. The big one mentions Liu.”
Lin Hongshen and Lin Xuanshen thought for a while and felt that they must have aged prematurely. How could they remember that this nephew came empty-handed? When did these 10 extra ginsengs come out?
"Okay, okay, Qizai, century-old wild ginseng is a top-notch rarity in Xiangjiang. The two of us will hype it up or place an advertisement in the newspaper, which will definitely make our Lingnan Hall famous."
Lin Sanqi felt relieved when she saw that her two uncles also knew about the advertising effect.
What he fears most is that they store wild ginseng like a treasure and refuse to show it to anyone. Then the point of him taking out the ginseng is gone. He might as well sell it for tens of millions in 2023.
Unknowingly, Lin Sanqi had assumed the role of the "young master" and continued to give instructions: (End of this chapter)