Chapter 305 Red Envelope Patent Acceleration
Three days later, downstairs of the Registrar General’s Office, Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai.
Lin Sanqi was wearing a suit and looked exactly like Xiao K, with a face full of curiosity and confidence.
Uncle Lin Wu and Uncle Lin Liu, who were following behind, were a little unconfident.
They sneaked into Hong Kong last year and obtained Hong Kong citizenship not long ago. Some of them are afraid of being deported. Sometimes they will take the initiative to avoid military uniforms patrolling the streets, which fully demonstrates the cowardice of Chinese people.
No matter which country the Chinese people go to, they all have one characteristic: they don't like to deal with the government. They are afraid that the government will eat them up, the plaintiff eating the defendant, and in the end, nothing will be left of them.
"Qizi, are you really going to apply for a patent? What if these two drugs of yours are really useful? Will someone else intercept them halfway and secretly apply for a patent themselves?"
Lin Sanqi thought that this was indeed possible. According to the information he had looked up, Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s was very dark.
Not only were the secret societies rampant, but even the Royal Hong Kong Police and the colonial government were corrupt and did not follow any rules at all.
This situation of corruption did not begin to adjust until the establishment of the ICAC in 1974, but collusion between police and criminals remained normal, it just moved from above ground to underground, right, Han Chen?
"Fifth Uncle, Sixth Uncle, our Lingnan Hall opened a Chinese medicine clinic on Temple Street. Do we have to pay protection fees to the society?"
Uncle Lin Wu complained:
"Why not? Not only do you have to pay a protection fee to the gang, but you also have to pay a tea fee to the police. That's how the clinic can operate safely. If you don't pay, both the black and white gangs will give you trouble, and you won't be able to do any business."
Lin Sanqi thought, this is exactly the same as in movies and novels.
However, corruption has both advantages and disadvantages. Without money, you can't move forward. When you go to the government to do business, you may encounter "difficult access, unpleasant faces, unpleasant words, and difficult things to do."
But what if you have money? Then all rules and restrictions are no longer restrictions, and the other party can be as efficient as they want.
Thinking of this, Lin Sanqi touched his briefcase. In addition to the drug information, there were also many envelopes, each containing Hong Kong dollars of different denominations.
The office building of the Hong Kong Registrar General's Office is not very large. After entering the door, there is a hall and a row of cabinets. Behind the cabinets sit a group of white-collar workers.
There are service signs hanging above the cabinet, which read: Trademark Registry, Patent Registry, Design Registry, and Copyright Registry.
You have to go to different counters to apply for different patents. It is very clear at a glance, and it is a very 2013 style of doing things.
Lin Sanqi couldn't find the drug patent application counter, so he figured it must be the "Patent Registration Office," so he plopped down on a chair.
There was a young bespectacled girl at the counter. Seeing a young man named Xiao K sitting down, she asked him businesslike:
"Hello sir, how can I help you?"
"Hello, beautiful lady. I want to register two patents for Western medicine."
"Drug patents? When did our pharmaceutical companies in Hong Kong have the research and development capabilities?"
Lin Sanqi's words instantly caught the attention of all the staff in the office. Everyone looked up. This was the first time that the Registrar General's Office had encountered such a situation in all the years since it opened.
"Yes, drug patents. Here are my files."
Lin Sanqi took out a thick sheet of printed paper from the bag and placed it on the cabinet. He could still smell the strong smell of ink. All the words on it were in English.
All of these materials were prepared by three doctoral students to help Lin Sanqi, and were filled out in the format required for patent applications.
Lin Sanqi can't just use the printed materials from 2013. The paper and ink are different.
The paper in 1960 was not standard A4 paper, and mechanical typewriters were used in those days, which meant typing out letters one by one, making a clicking sound.
To this end, Lin Sanqi asked a printing shop to reprint everything, which cost him 300 yuan.
The four-eyed girl's glasses flashed as she took the information and looked it over. "Lifocol, ethambutol? Let me think about it, I've never heard of them."
After saying that, the bespectacled girl took out a catalog and started checking.
In 1960, computers were not yet used in office work, and everything needed to be proofread manually, especially patent applications. This was because the work was too tedious and different regions and countries were not connected to the same network.
Therefore, there are directories similar to the "Yellow Pages" for staff to conduct preliminary inquiries.
After a while, the four-eyed girl raised her head and said with a smile:
"A miracle has truly occurred in Hong Kong. As of last year, no one had applied for patents for these two drugs, at least not in Hong Kong."
At this time, another man in a suit who looked like a leader also came over curiously:
"Sir, which pharmaceutical company are you from? Drug research and development requires a huge investment. This is the first time a Hong Kong 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 Lingnantang Pharmaceutical Company. This is my business card. Please take care of me."
Lingnantang Pharmaceutical Company is a shell company that Lin Sanqi just commissioned an intermediary to register. Its registered address is in the Chinese medicine clinic on Temple Street. On the business card, Lin Sanqi is the general manager of Lingnantang Pharmaceutical Company.
Hong Kong is a free port, and the procedures for setting up a company in Hong Kong are very simple. However, there are countless shell companies, which is similar to the situation in China in 2013.
From this perspective, we can see that Hong Kong's economic prosperity in the 1960s was very vibrant.
The man in the suit took the business card and thought for a long time but couldn't remember which Lingnantang Pharmaceutical Company there was in Hong Kong. However, he quickly figured out that this should be a newly established shell company used to apply for patents.
Separating patents from companies is a common practice in the business world.
The man in the suit asked again, "Mr. Lin, what are the treatments for these two drugs you applied for?"
Lin Sanqi politely replied, "Rifampicin is an antibacterial drug, and ethambutol is a tuberculosis inhibitor. These two drugs are mainly used to treat tuberculosis."
When the staff of the Registrar General's Office heard this, they were not as surprised as Lin Sanqi had expected, and shouted "Siguoyi".
This surprised Lin Sanqi a little. He thought, tuberculosis, the number one killer infectious disease, is not only serious in China, but also very serious abroad. How come I have come up with a powerful drug, but your reaction is so indifferent?
In fact, this cannot be blamed on these Hong Kong staff.
After all, Lin Sanqi has a God's perspective and knows that the tuberculosis quadruple therapy consisting of rifampicin and ethambutol is a revolutionary treatment for tuberculosis and has changed the course of human disease.
But the staff of the Hong Kong Registrar General's Office don't understand this, not to mention that there are so many kinds of anti-tuberculosis drugs on the market that everyone is used to it.
This is actually a good thing for Lin Sanqi, as it will prevent him from attracting attention and being targeted.
The four-eyed girl started to go through the formalities. After taking Lin Sanqi's information, she began to fill out forms, input data, and so on. Finally, she 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 within Hong Kong.
If you apply for a patent in the United States, then according to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the European Patent Convention and the Patent Cooperation Treaty, all member states will recognize it.
Lin Sanqi asked, "Who are the member states?"
"If it's an international patent, it's basically recognized by all developed countries and Commonwealth countries, including the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Japan, West Germany, India, etc., a total of 56 countries."
“I’m applying for an international patent.”
Lin Sanqi doesn't care about Commonwealth countries, as they are all poor countries. Even a big country like India, do you think they will charge patent fees? Don't dream.
Lin Sanqi values all developed countries. This is a big piece of fat meat, and it is also the main purpose of his going to Hong Kong with great difficulty this time.
A patent applied for in Hong Kong is equivalent to a patent applied for in the United States, and can be recognized and protected by all developed countries.
The four-eyed girl started to preach the policy mechanically:
"Okay, if you apply for an international patent, the annual patent fee is 500 pounds, and you have to pay it every year. Failure to pay will be deemed as giving up the patent. In addition, the patent investigation period takes 18 months, so please be patient."
Lin Sanqi doesn't care about 500 pounds, it's just a few gold bars, but the patent investigation period is 18 months, and Lin Sanqi can't wait.
Because he had looked up information on the computer, the two drugs, rifampicin and ethambutol, were originally launched on the market in 1965.
If nothing unexpected happens, the patent applications for rifampicin and ethambutol should have been filed in 1962 or 1963, and they should still be in the clinical trial stage.
But this is an optimistic estimate if nothing unexpected happens. What if someone applies in advance in 1960 or 1961?
Then all his efforts would be in vain.
Therefore, Lin Sanqi must get the patent before European and American pharmaceutical companies, intercept them, and suffocate them.
After they spent huge amounts of money, manpower and material resources, and finally successfully developed the drug and even published a paper, when they applied for a patent, someone else got it first?
Of course they will definitely raise patent objections and file a lawsuit.
The problem is that the patent application materials that Lin Sanqi has produced are all plagiarized from theirs. It's like the two parties' materials are exactly the same, just with different dates. How does the other party explain this?
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 the European and American courts will definitely protect the interests of their own people. They will be shameless and start to act like hooligans, and will rule in favor of European and American pharmaceutical companies.
But now Lin Sanqi is already a resident of Hong Kong, which means he is half American. In theory, he is also one of their own, so there is no reason to rule him the loser.
Therefore, the faster the time from patent application to confirmation, the better. If it is slow, there will be unexpected complications and changes.
Don't overestimate the moral and legal bottom lines of Europeans and Americans. As long as there is profit, they dare to withdraw Lin Sanqi's application halfway, replace it with their own application and pass it.
By then, Lin Sanqi will have no place to cry.
Lin Sanqi quietly took out an envelope from his briefcase, which contained 2,000 Hong Kong dollars.
In 1960, the average monthly salary of Hong Kong residents was around HK$200. Even though the Registrar General's Office was a white-collar job, the income of government employees would not exceed HK$300.
2,000 Hong Kong dollars is equivalent to half a year's income for an ordinary white-collar worker. It is neither too much nor too little.
Lin Sanqi pretended to hand over some more papers: "Madam, I forgot some information just now. Here."
The bespectacled girl was a little surprised. She took a few pages of paper and then found a beige envelope sandwiched between the papers. She touched it and quickly put it in the drawer.
Then the four-eyed girl's attitude became quite good, and she said softly to Lin Sanqi:
"Sir, what do you want?"
"Ma'am, I'm not going to embarrass you, but 18 months is too long for a patent investigation. Is there any way to shorten it?"
The four-eyed girl thought for a moment and continued softly:
"I can help you with the Hong Kong side within three days, but my boss will need to handle the Eagle Country side. If he's willing to help, I believe the patent certificate can be obtained for you within a month."
In the drug patent application process, the Patent Office will first conduct a preliminary review of the applied drug.
The content mainly involves reviewing the patent application, description, drawings, abstract, etc. to ensure that they comply with legal provisions and do not conflict with other similar patents.
This process can be fast or slow.
The girl with glasses is responsible for the initial review. If she wants it to be fast, she can just stamp it and approve it without looking at the content. These three days are considered reserved time. In fact, it can be done within one day with overtime.
After the preliminary review is passed, a substantive review of the drug is required.
The content is to review the drug's formula, production process, stability, effect, etc., which is very formal.
At the same time, due to the particularity of international patents, it is necessary to communicate with patent agencies in various countries to inquire whether there are similar patent applications in other countries.
If there are no similar patent applications in other countries, it would be simple.
If other countries have similar drug patent applications, additional patent comparisons will be required to determine whether there is a possibility of patent conflict.
Because the people at the Patent Office are not pharmaceutical professionals, the entire difficult process requires communication with R&D personnel.
If this goes on for a while, it will take at least one or two years to finish it.
Of course, this process can be cheated, and the operation is very simple. As long as you make sure that there are no similar patents in other countries, the Hong Kong Registration Office or the superior Eagle Country Intellectual Property Office can directly approve it.
There is no need for laboratory re-examination or repeated evaluation by an expert group.
Anyway, whether the drug patent is real or whether it can protect the interests of the applicant is irrelevant to the Patent Office or the Hong Kong Registration Office.
You provided the information, so if someone later exploits a patent loophole, it's your own fault, not the Patent Office's...
So as long as you have money, you can apply for a patent as fast as you want. All crows are black. Don’t talk about the integrity of foreign countries. Everyone is greedy for money, especially those who have some power. It all depends on who has a stronger ability to extort money.
If you want to talk about integrity in foreign countries, you should watch American TV series such as "House of Cards", "Mayor of Kingston", "The Edge", etc. They are extremely dark.
Those who play politics and those who hold official positions are all extremely dirty.
Especially Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s...
Lin Sanqi asked in a low voice, "Who is your boss? How should I communicate with him?"
The bespectacled girl had a good impression of the handsome little K. Perhaps because she was used to pimping, she reminded him:
"The gentleman drinking coffee over there is my boss, Sir Wen Wenyao. I'll call him over to that room later. Just give him this amount."
After saying that, the four-eyed girl stretched out her hand. Lin Sanqi understood and nodded gently: "Thank you for your help."
The four-eyed girl flirted with Lin Sanqi, then stood up and shouted:
"Sir Wen, Mr. Lin has some patent-related matters to consult you."
Wen Wenyao nodded, put down his coffee, walked over, and gestured to Lin Sanqi:
"Mr. Lin, right? Please come sit in our lounge area for a while. If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them."
Lin Sanqi smiled and said, "Thank you for troubling Sir Wen."
A quarter of an hour later, Lin Sanqi and Wen Wenyao stood up together with a smile and shook hands. No one knew that there was an envelope of 5,000 Hong Kong dollars in Sir Wen's suit pocket.
"Don't worry, Mr. Lin. I'll take care of your two drug patents. I'll definitely give you good news in two weeks or a month."
Lin Sanqi smiled and made an excuse:
"Sir Wen, I have plans to go on a business trip to the United States soon. If I'm not in Hong Kong after the patent is approved, please call the number on my business card and have someone come to pick up the patent certificate."
"Okay, okay. It seems Mr. Lin has a very big business."
Wen Wenyao was polite on the surface, but he was actually testing the waters secretly, and was also evaluating whether this young rich man in front of him was worth making friends with.
Lin Sanqi has traveled through two eras and has long been accustomed to telling lies to people and lies to ghosts. He can tell lies easily.
"Sir Wen, you don't know this. The pharmaceutical industry appears to be quite profitable, but the investment is actually too huge. If you're not careful, you can go bankrupt. In order to fight for business, I have invested over 1 billion Hong Kong dollars in drug research and development. I will inevitably have to trouble Sir Wen frequently in the future."
Wen Wenyao thought that this was indeed a big shot and worth getting to know.
Lin Sanqi thought, this is a greedy fish. As long as they are fed, won't it be easy to open a backdoor for patent applications in the future? They must be won over and the stakes must be raised.
At this time, both parties had reached the stairs, and Wen Wenyao came to see Lin Sanqi off politely.
Seeing that there was no one around, Lin Sanqi took out a small wooden box from his backpack:
"Sir Wen, here is a 50-year-old wild ginseng from Northeast China. Take it back to replenish your body."
Wen Wenyao was delighted when he heard this. Even though he received a British education, he was still a great admirer of Chinese medicine and health preservation in his heart.
These days, due to the closure of the mainland, the export of wild ginseng from Northeast China has been stopped. It is very difficult to buy authentic wild ginseng in Hong Kong. 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 big deal.
"Oh, Brother Lin, I, how can I feel embarrassed?"
"Brother Wen, we hit it off right away, so there's no need to be polite. I'll be bothering you often in the future."
"No, no, no problem."
“Hehehe~~~~”
Coming out of the Registrar General's Office, Uncle Lin Wu and Uncle Lin Liu looked at Lin Sanqi with a bit of disdain:
"Where did you learn this, kid? Your father is a man of integrity, and your elder brother is a gentleman with an open mind. How come you've become so slick?"
Lin Sanqi shrugged his shoulders:
"I just paid for a VIP service. It's like going to an amusement park and everyone else has to queue up, but I paid for a 'U-Pass'. This isn't normal. Anything that can be solved with money is trivial."
Uncle Lin Wu shook his head helplessly: "Well, it seems that you will have to be the head of the Lin family in the future. The family is bound to have such opportunists."
After returning to the 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 staying in Hong Kong for a few days and will have to go back. I have something to explain to you.
These are four secret recipes. This one is for Angong Niuhuang Wan, and this one is for Pien Tze Huang. You've probably heard how precious these two medicines are. These are the recipes. Memorize them and burn them.
There's also this secret recipe called "Stop Bleeding," which is even more effective than Yunnan Baiyao. It can stop bleeding in minutes for injuries from falls. Hong Kong is full of organized crime groups, and street fights are common, so this remedy is definitely suitable for them.
The last secret recipe is called Aoaojiao, which is used to enhance male sexual pleasure. You can also try it to see how effective it is, hehe."
Uncle Lin Wu and Uncle Lin Liu stared at the secret recipe with shining eyes.
Lin Sanqi coughed lightly a few times:
"You must keep these four secret recipes well. You can make medicines based on them and sell them. I see that our Lingnan Hall Chinese Medicine Clinic doesn't have many patients. These four secret recipes can become our secret weapons. I believe they will be of great help to our business.
Throughout history, in China and abroad, any Chinese medicine clinic that wants to become famous must have its own unique skills.
Because the real owner, Lin Kucan, was not in attendance at the Lingnan Hall Chinese Medicine Clinic in Xiangjiang, Uncle Lin Wu and Uncle Lin Liu could only provide ordinary Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment. Their medical skills were not outstanding, so it was naturally impossible for them to attract patients.
Now that Lin Sanqi has given them four secret recipes, he believes that Lingnan Hall will soon become famous in Hong Kong.
"Qizi, don't worry. Big Brother asked you to bring these secret recipes. We will definitely not let Big Brother down. Wait until you come to Hong Kong next time, and just wait and see. Our Lingnan Hall will definitely become the best and largest Chinese medicine clinic in Kowloon."
At this time, Lin Sanqi took out ten wild ginsengs from the inner room:
"Uncle Fifth and Uncle Six, these are ten hundred-year-old wild ginseng roots. You can keep them in your store. Whether you want to use them to maintain your store's reputation or sell them to wealthy individuals, this will greatly enhance the reputation and strength of our Lingnan Hall."
Lin Hongshen and Lin Xuanshen thought about it and felt that they must have aged prematurely. Why did they remember that their nephew came empty-handed? When did these 10 ginsengs appear?
"Okay, okay, Qizi. Hundred-year-old wild ginseng is a top-tier and scarce commodity in Hong Kong. If we can hype it up or put an ad in the newspaper, it will definitely make our Lingnan Hall famous."
Lin Sanqi felt relieved when he saw that his two uncles also knew about the advertising effect.
What he feared most was that they would collect the wild ginseng as a treasure and would not show it to others. Then there would be no point in him giving out the ginseng. He might as well sell it for tens of millions in 2013.
Unconsciously, Lin Sanqi had already put himself into the role of "young master" and continued to exhort:
(End of this chapter)
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