Chapter 933 Xiao Han, you can’t control the water depth of the LNG ship...
“Mr. Chang, do you need to ask the comrades from the legal department to handle it?”
Looking at his face Lei Zhixing tentatively asked Chang Haonan, who had a gloomy expression on his face.
Of course, as a purely scientific research institution, Torch Laboratory does not have a legal department.
But Torch Group has——
In fact, long before the official release of TORCH Multiphysics, in order to adapt to the intellectual property and computer software-related regulations of other countries, Chang Haonan entrusted Teacher Yang Huimei to set up a legal department with a broad business scope.
Over the years, the reason why the Torch Group’s products and services have been able to flow smoothly in many countries is that it has never encountered any case worth writing about. Apart from its own strength and Chang Haonan’s In addition to good relationships with some small and influential local companies, rigorous, detailed and timely updated user manuals also play a very important role.
However, it is precisely because of this.
Compared to its counterparts in other companies who are fighting for their lives, Torch Group's legal department is still slightly lacking in experience in practical operations, that is, in litigation.
"Uh..."
Chang Haonan hesitated for a moment, but then nodded:
"I'll contact Professor Yang and Director Song and hold a meeting of various departments of the group..."
"Okay! "
Lei Zhixing showed a relieved expression:
"They should be taught a lesson by stealing our patents so blatantly!"
You know, in this round of the overall game on the technical route of the second-generation membrane LNG ship, even if it is not a matter of life and death, there is a high probability that the party that wins in the end will be the winner-take-all, while the loser will have to wait for at least the next 10-15 years. It is difficult for anyone to raise their head again in this field, and they can only survive on scraps.
Originally, the Hudong plant, which had lost the opportunity, had made strategic plans to give up the past ten years, but at the most critical moment, it was revitalized by the BOG re-liquefaction patent developed by Chang Haonan. , at least saw the possibility of victory.
But if Samsung Offshore also uses the same level of re-liquefaction technology, then relying on the inherent lightweight advantage of the Technigaz cargo tank, China will have no chance of winning.
Therefore, for Lei Zhixing, who has been working on this project for two years, this is tantamount to being jumped in the face and ridiculed.
Being able to maintain rationality without being red-blooded means that he has a gentle temperament.
However, seeing the other party's excited reaction, Chang Haonan just touched his nose awkwardly:
"Uh..."
"Actually, Zhixing, the actual situation is different from what you think. There may be some discrepancies..."
Lei Zhixing's expression suddenly froze:
"Mr. Chang, what you mean is..."
"Forget it."
Chang Haonan waved his hand:
"You will know it during the meeting tomorrow."
His thoughts can be expressed in a few sentences. Not very clear.
Besides, Lei Zhixing is in a state of anger right now, so it is not suitable for him to talk about too in-depth topics.
Therefore, after getting started, Chang Haonan decided not to waste words for the time being and wait until the meeting to discuss it together...
...
The scale of the Torch Group itself is actually not large. , so it won’t take long to convene a meeting of middle- and high-level leaders.
Chang Haonan called, and the next morning, except for Wei Yongming, who was not directly related to the matter and couldn't leave, all the other department heads sat in the conference room.
As usual, Song Jingming made a simple opening statement and briefly introduced the current situation.
At this time, not only Lei Zhixing, but also most of the participants felt angry and funny.
The reason for being angry is naturally similar to the former.
Are you laughing...
This kind of blatant theft of technology is simply a piece of meat that feeds the legal department...
For a time, in the conference room The atmosphere also became lively.
In the end, it was Chang Haonan who stretched out his hand and pressed it down to calm down the already somewhat off-topic debate.
However, it is not that there are calmer people.
After the conference room became quiet again, Kang Kaicai, director of the external relations department in charge of external cooperation, asked:
“Mr. Chang, although I don’t really trust the character of Samsung Offshore Engineering. , but the other party has much more experience in international commercial law and transnational patent rights than we do. Even from a purely rational perspective, it is unlikely that the other party will reveal such a big flaw to us.”
"So, will there be anything behind this..."
At this time, China has only joined the WTO for a year, so domestic companies will show some inexperience when dealing with international trade disputes.
In many cases, we have to admit defeat after suffering a loss.
This naturally includes the Torch Group.
It can be said that except for the members of the legal affairs and external relations departments, everyone else still has a partial understanding of these contents.
Chang Haonan is holding this meeting today. In addition to deploying his own plan, he is also taking this opportunity to train everyone's troops.
So, he nodded, agreeing with Kang Kai's view, and then turned to the head of the legal department and an expert in international commercial law, Dr. Hou Shunda:
"Director Hou, please explain the situation in detail. "
"Okay."
Hou Shunda opened the folder in front of him unhurriedly:
"Although I understand the sentiments of all comrades, as a legal officer, I I still need to pour some cold water on everyone to cool down.”
"Last night, we compared the previously registered patent description document with the design document disclosed by Samsung Offshore Engineering, and finally confirmed..."
Here, he paused slightly:
“It was finally confirmed that the other party has basically avoided our group’s patent on the BOG reliquefaction system. Although there are some marginal areas, if a lawsuit is filed on this basis, I am afraid that the dispute will last for a long time...”< br>
“What?!”
Lei Zhixing, who was full of expectations, immediately sat up straight.
He had only known that Chang Haonan had registered a patent for the BOG reliquefaction system, but as a technician, he had not actually read the relevant legal documents sentence by sentence.
It’s naturally a little hard to accept now.
"Calm down."
Chang Haonan did not change his expression, but stretched out his finger and tapped the table lightly.
Actually, he knew this would be the case when he saw the design document for the first time yesterday.
And the reason why he was extremely shocked at that time was also due to another reason. "Actually, the liquefaction process itself of the BOG reliquefaction system, whether it is cascade type, refrigerant type, or expander type, is a fairly mature technology in the chemical industry."
Faced with a group of subordinates who had different reactions, Chang Haonan spoke slowly and explained:
“Their core patents have been registered as early as last century, or even last century, and now they have expired. After the protection period has expired, no one can re-apply for a patent based on these contents.”
“Of course, we can register patents for some fragmented peripheral technologies to obtain certain protection. However, this registration method is very easy to bypass, especially for experienced people like Samsung Offshore Engineering, so it is of little significance.”
"So, when I submitted the patent application, I changed my mind and registered a large number of patents focused on the adaptation between the reliquefaction system and the cargo tank, as well as the reliability design of the entire ship."
"At that time, I felt that as everyone was professional in shipbuilding, they should be able to see that this system would have an impact on the hull structure itself, so no matter what path our competitors took in liquefaction technology, they would eventually have to come to us to solve safety issues. . ”
“I never expected that someone would be so brave as to change the design we made to ensure safety beyond recognition, and then just do it without even testing it. Draw it on the design plan..."
Chang Haonan said helplessly, holding his forehead with one hand and shaking his head.
The core technical principles of this BOG reliquefaction system were basically developed by him alone. No matter the Hudong factory, Lei Zhixing and Liu Fangping, they can only understand the specific design plan at present.
That's why there was this oolong.
Actually, from the perspective of hindsight, he did underestimate the Korean people's urinary nature.
In the previous life, South Korea did similar things when it developed its own KUH1 "Perfect Eagle" helicopter (actually a copy of the Super Puma).
Because I did not go through detailed arguments, I just thought about it for a while and then blindly changed the propeller hub. As a result, the main rotor of a helicopter directly separated from the fuselage during flight and flew away...
Thinking about it this way, the things in front of me seem to have a hint of reasonableness in the absurdity...
...
For a while, the expressions of other people in the conference room were very exciting.
"So..."
Lei Zhixing, who was so excited that he almost banged the table, inevitably felt a little embarrassed at this time:
"Actually, we don't need to worry about this at all. Something?”
"That's not the case."
Chang Haonan waved his hand:
"After all, the other party still made some marginal moves, and the design plan obviously borrowed a lot from us. Even if we can't win the lawsuit, This final result can also allow the comrades in the legal department to practice their skills and help our Torch Group and Hudong Plant conduct a wave of publicity."
"I am thinking now whether to take the initiative to remind Samsung Offshore Engineering. Over there, they say there are a lot of risks behind this technology, and if you mess around with it, something could easily happen..."
At this time, even Kang Kai and Hou Shunda were a little confused:
"Mr. Chang, is this... unnecessary?"
"Yes, if we don't add fuel to the flames from behind, it will be a great honor to them..."
"If Samsung If there is a problem with Offshore Engineering’s LNG ship, wouldn’t that be a huge benefit to us?”
“…”
All kinds of doubts arise one after another.
In fact, Chang Haonan was a little hard to make a decision at this time.
"On the surface, it is indeed what you said."
He frowned slightly and rubbed the acupuncture points on both sides of the bridge of his nose:
"But Samsung Offshore engineering beasts...these guys are so courageous. If those LNG ships are put into use, I can't even estimate how much trouble there will be..."
In fact, if this If it is a normal transaction, then Party A will also conduct relevant testing before receiving the goods, and there is a high probability that unqualified products can be kept out.
But the problem is that this wave of Xizhuer is to deceive and sneak attacks.
Norwegians simply don’t wait for delivery before they start their classic operation.
In the end, these 8 LNG ships will definitely be sold as second-hand ships to an unknown buyer.
But the degree of regulation of this kind of transaction is uncertain.
“What if Samsung Offshore inherits the glorious tradition of the Japanese and controls the risk within a very precise range, resulting in no detection during the test, but a big problem occurs after it is put into use... For example, if it explodes, it will probably be a major blow to the entire LNG transportation industry.”
"Ordinary people don't care whether the cargo tank you use is Gas-Transport or Technigaz, nor do they care whether your ship is made by Samsung Offshore Engineering or Hudong-Zhonghua. If it really explodes, I'm afraid the major ports will be affected the next day. We have to refuse LNG ships to dock... This is also a big risk for us."
"Also."
Chang Haonan took a sip of water from his tea cup, and then continued to add. :
“Although it sounds outrageous, in the eyes of many foreigners, several countries in East Asia are actually tied together...”
“It was only a few years ago that Japanese companies After a thunderstorm, if Korean companies also start to burst into thunder, it may not be a good thing for our image..."
This explanation made the other people's expressions become solemn again.
"Isn't this a pure and innocent disaster..."
Kang Kai complained ventively.
But complaints are complaints. As the head of the external relations department, he knows that what Chang Haonan said does exist.
In 2001, China's own influence was still at a relatively low level.
Indeed, it has not yet gotten rid of the shackles of the classification "East Asia".
"Then... is it possible that we have to rush to wipe their butts?"
Lei Zhixing also found it a bit difficult to accept.
"Of course that's impossible... We are not doing charity."
Chang Haonan decisively denied it.
For a time, everyone fell into the same tangle as him.
No matter what choice you make, there are pros and cons.
And because there are so many variables, it’s difficult to choose the lesser of two evils.
After a few minutes, Chang Haonan finally decided to cut the knot quickly:
“Forget it.”
He took a deep breath:
“Litigation with Samsung Offshore Engineering is actually a wake-up call for them.”
“If the other side insists on stubbornness, then we are not theirs. Parents, there is no need to wait behind you. Just do the cutting in advance and try to reduce the impact on us..."
"The meeting is over!"
(End of this chapter)