Chapter 678 Intellectual property rights must be protected
For a software like TORCH Multiphysics that has been operating stably for more than a year and has basically no competing products on the market, the official release is actually a smooth process. .
The main thing is to push a new version and take this opportunity to start charging.
So, the three of them did not stay on this topic for too long.
“By the way, Mr. Chang.”
Just when Chang Haonan was about to announce the end of the meeting, Yang Huimei suddenly changed the topic:
“When I participated in other project negotiations before, I encountered many software intellectual property disputes.”
"In the past, our software was free to trial, so there was nothing to say, but now we are charging. Considering the replicability of computer programs, I think there is no guarantee that someone will not use pirated versions."
"And, even if not, Considering the problem of cracking encryption, we have released so many trial versions before. If they continue to use it, we only rely on a user agreement, and it will be difficult to impose restrictions on the operation, right? "
Two years ago? When TORCHMultiphysics was first released, Chang Haonan specially found someone to write user agreements in multiple languages for major regions in the world.
However, Yang Huimei’s concerns are indeed justified.
From the late 1990s to the early 21st century, due to unclear legal provisions and difficulties in law enforcement operations, piracy problems were relatively rampant around the world.
Not to mention China.
How many software companies have been killed by piracy in recent years.
In order to prevent theft, many games can only set levels in the game content that cannot be passed by normal means, and then come with a guide book with the genuine software.
The domestic office software WSP almost went bankrupt at this stage.
“I think big companies and institutions should be fine. Our Torch Group, and of course Mr. Chang, are all registered with it, and the TORC Multiphysics software is a key basic industry project designated by the state. There shouldn’t be anyone who is blind to this kind of thing.”
As the office director, Song Jingming doesn’t know much about business-level issues, but he has a clear view of the general trend:
"So, I think the main problem may still be small and medium-sized enterprise users, as well as universities and research institutions."
"I already have preliminary ideas about universities and research institutions."
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Chang Haonan waved his hand directly:
“We have finally taken this opportunity to stand at the forefront of the world’s numerical computing field, and we must still play some social responsibilities in the field of education.”
"What's more, cultivating new blood is also good for ourselves. After all, we can't expect that others will never come up with products with similar functions to ours. But if users who engage in numerical simulation all over the world have adapted to the operation of TORC Multiphysics when they were students, , which will form an innate barrier for latecomers.”
“At that time, they will not be able to compete with us in terms of computing performance, software ecology, and user habits, even if they are more expensive. Advantages, even if they are free, will hardly pose a threat to us.”
As a Chinese engineer who has experienced the 2020s, Chang Haonan is very aware of how much these hidden costs will bring to first-mover companies. benefits.
In the years when commercial software was intensively localized, even if the file formats were common to each other, there would be many compatibility issues that required manual processing.
As for those who can't even open each other's project files, the conversion is even more of a nightmare.
It can be said that if it were not for the large wave of assistance from the other side of the ocean, whether it is software or hardware, there would be no such strong motivation in China to engage in similar types of substitutions.
And now.
Thirty years in Hedong, thirty years in Hexi.
Chang Haonan, who finally had his turn to be the pioneer, certainly couldn't let go of the opportunity to fight back.
"So what you mean is..."
Song Jingming said and opened his notebook.
“For educational institutions, we can provide free student version software, even including a full set of tutorials and training. In fact, we only need to change the name of the current trial version, but we need to add some features so that we can see it at a glance You can check which project file is from the free version. "
"Of course, this version is only for the educational process. If you want to use it in research results or projects, you still need to purchase our commercial version of the software. ”
"This is a good way to cultivate usage habits from students..."
Song Jingming wrote in the notebook quickly, recording what Chang Haonan said:
" However, how to promote this version? "
"I mean, we can't just advertise that we have a free student version of the software. "
Chang Haonan's answer was almost without thinking:
"I compiled a textbook related to numerical simulation two years ago..."
"Huh?"
He just started talking. After a while, Song Jingming stopped taking notes:
“Have you ever compiled teaching materials?”
"Ah..."
The latter's sudden surprise made Chang Haonan a little confused:
"These... are all our own people who know the basics, and there is no need to act so exaggerated. Right?”
Song Jingming’s answer was a little hesitant:
“No…I just feel that the people who compile the textbooks should be very old experts in the industry…”< br>
As he spoke, his voice became smaller and smaller, until finally he could no longer hear him——
To put it bluntly, this is a matter of mindset.
Song Jingming joined Torch Group relatively late, and has not participated in the development process of TORCH Multiphysics, and has little relationship with institutions such as Beijing Hang University.
From his perspective, although Chang Haonan is indeed very powerful, he is mainly a "young and promising leader of a state-owned enterprise".
But if you think about it carefully, you will find that although Chang Haonan is not very old, he can already be regarded as a leader in the industry.
You must be qualified to compile textbooks.
Chang Haonan also knew that the other party was in the dark under the light, so he just waved his hand and continued:
"In short, most domestic universities should use my copy for classes now. I just need to find some cases and compile something like a practice manual later, and let those colleges and universities open practical courses.”
He didn’t dare to talk about wider fields, but in the field of numerical simulation, he didn’t dare. Now it is absolutely a monopoly in all fields.
A person is likely to have used the textbooks he compiled since he was a student. After entering the laboratory, he read the papers he published. When doing research, he still uses the software issued by Torch Group. After graduation, he will If the project encounters a problem that cannot be solved, it is likely that the Torch Group will have to buy a solution...
Yang Huimei on the other side was Professor Jinghang after all, so she didn’t show too much surprise, but she shook her head slightly, feeling that it was a bit outrageous, and then she started to wonder why her children were not so up to date...
The more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she became, so she finally decided to change the topic directly:
"That's it for universities and research institutions first. The focus is still on small and medium-sized enterprises. Our annual software fee is at least six figures. , some small companies have great motivation to use some channels to produce trial versions for commercial use. If this sum is calculated, it is definitely a big loss. "
"What if we just grab the big ones and let the small ones go?"
Song Jingming obviously had no good solution. At the turn of the century, many professors and researchers were actually opening small companies outside, using the resources of the school and their graduate students to help themselves make extra money.
It is difficult to completely kill a company of this size.
“Simply catching the big and letting go of the small will definitely not work.”
After all, Yang Huimei is experienced and rejected the idea directly:
“We don’t know what is big and what is small. Small, for example, if I start a large company, but all the business related to numerical simulation is outsourced, the high probability of outsourcing is to a small company, so I can’t just ignore it, right?”
“I think we should start from the legal perspective and set up a special legal department to target people who exploit such loopholes and punch two to death from time to time. At least there must be a deterrent, otherwise wouldn’t it be necessary? Being viewed as a soft persimmon? ”
In fact, Chang Haonan's initial thoughts were similar to Song Jingming's: just focus on the big ones and let go of the small ones, and capture the users of large enterprises and institutions.
But what Yang Huimei said does make sense.
Some companies have never lost in the field of intellectual property rights...
(End of this chapter)