Chapter 9: This is how patents are obtained
Even Gu Mojie is very clear at this moment—he can at most earn a few tens of thousands of yuan as startup capital by the winter vacation, and then he will definitely have to stop. At that time, he will study when he needs to study and review when he needs to review. This line of work lacks creativity and constructiveness; it is purely primitive accumulation
Here is the breakthrough point for Gu Mojie’s first pot of gold. Although he lost most of his knowledge during the quantum rebirth, his consciousness and thought patterns were not erased. Instead, it is akin to a patient, much like Linghu Chong, who was once filled with various foreign energies in his meridians. After suddenly expelling the foreign energies from his body and mastering the Northern Darkness Divine Skill, he attained a state of clarity and purity, as if his spiritual platform was empty and serene, resembling the vast emptiness of a valley.
In the 2010s, individuals accessed the SOOPAT patent search database to query "intelligent light-sensitive retractable clothes drying rack," assuming they could find dozens of inventions and hundreds of related utility models
The girl answering the phone is named Fei Liro, the daughter of Fei Wenli's elder brother, and she is currently a sophomore at the Law School of Qianjiang University. Fei Wenli was quite disappointed to know that her son had no interest in studying law since childhood; fortunately, her niece from her maternal family does not like the sciences and is willing to take over her aunt's path. Therefore, Fei Wenli has devoted considerable attention to her niece, almost raising her as her own daughter, and has already provided her with opportunities to intern at her law firm during the winter and summer vacations while she is still in her second year.
One week later, it will be another weekend
The reason is simple: there are too few people who have specialized in this field and have grasped the nuances. At the same time, the financial returns are not quick. In this era, those who possess both the intellect and the capital have better opportunities elsewhere. Who would choose to toil for this meager income
In the process of transforming scientific research achievements into productive forces, the conversion rate is excessively low
This person who is filing patents seems to be quite knowledgeable
The technology achievement novelty search is a fee-based service provided by the science and technology departments of various provinces. For 500 yuan, one can obtain a search conclusion that analyzes the number of innovative points in the achievements proposed for submission by the applicant unit, serving as an official authoritative conclusion. Many enterprises, uncertain about whether their achievements are novel enough to apply for a formal patent, often pay this fee to test the waters. The price for this service has not increased from 2003 to 2013. Many enterprises, uncertain about whether their achievements are novel enough to apply for a formal patent, often pay this fee to test the waters. The price for this service has not increased from 2003 to 2013
Vivien Leigh also set aside the matter of the phone call and continued to read on.
If they are purely liberal arts students, such as those patent application agents, they can be quite cunning, understanding how the mechanisms work and how to arrange and combine them for maximum benefit. Unfortunately, liberal arts students completely fail to comprehend technical principle books and do not understand engineering and science subjects, making it difficult for them to effectively integrate these concepts, which ultimately renders their efforts futile
It is simply: Utility Model No. 1 only implements the function of "detecting illuminance with a light sensor, and when the sunlight illuminance is below a certain LUX, it automatically retracts the drying rack using the servo motor on the drying rack." Then, Utility Model No. 2, inspired by this, added "a humidity sensor to detect when the humidity in the air exceeds a certain level, which indicates rain or haze, and it also automatically retracts the drying rack." ... Subsequently, Utility Models No. 3 and 4 added pressure sensors to sense wind force and changes in the weight of the clothes ... Then, Utility Model No. 2, inspired by this, added "a humidity sensor to detect when the humidity in the air exceeds a certain level, which indicates rain or haze, and it also automatically retracts the drying rack." ... Subsequently, Utility Models No. 3 and 4 added pressure sensors to sense wind force and changes in the weight of the clothes ...
The kind of family tragedy that Gu Mojie encountered played out even more tragically in the Fei family. Therefore, although Ferdinand's family conditions were several social strata above those of Gu Mojie, he still felt a sense of shared suffering and found it easy to communicate with him
Lawyers are ultimately a meticulous profession, and it is inappropriate to make judgments solely based on intuition. Even though she felt that her assessment was likely correct, Vivien Leigh still picked up the phone at hand and dialed an extension.
Just like after mastering the Northern Darkness Divine Skill, although the internal energy reserves are insufficient and the "odometer" has been reset, the speed of cultivation and absorption of internal energy is unprecedentedly fast, akin to a brand new 918 SPIDER, which can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers in just 3 seconds
For such individuals, engaging in academic fraud in this regard is practically the first bucket of gold tailored for them
Moreover, at that time, the scrutiny of the patent office would be significantly stricter, filtering out those that were clearly just padding.
The "light sensing, pressure sensing, humidity sensing, and weight sensing automatic clothes drying rack" has immediately generated several practical new model explanations that are logically rigorous, systematic, and can mutually reference certain principles. Moreover, after arranging and combining these innovative points, it is evident that there is a deliberate planning to avoid certain combinations of innovative points when looking back to infer the causes from the effects.
A week ago, Fei Wenli had heard her son mention that a few friends wanted to engage in a one-time patent transaction, and he had roughly outlined the conditions. Fei Wenli, being a businesswoman, did not have any objections to such matters, but she merely laughed it off and did not take it seriously
If a student in the sciences and engineering is solely focused on research and lacks the cunning mindset typical of liberal arts students, especially those in law, they will struggle to navigate this field. Even if they occasionally write one or two patents, they do not understand how to build a portfolio of patents and barriers to maximize their own interests
To make an analogy
So, why are there so many patents
After all, she does not expect her son's friends or classmates to possess any remarkable abilities—perhaps they are just the typical overambitious and underachieving students from Qiantang No. 2 Middle School, who are full of youthful bravado and ignorance of their own limitations
Gu Mojie does not dare to claim that he is a super scholar, but he happens to excel in both the arts and sciences, belonging to the type that would wake up laughing from a dream if the college entrance examination could test a comprehensive subject combining both liberal arts and sciences. In his previous life, he was famously knowledgeable yet not specialized, learning everything particularly quickly, but never willing to delve too deeply into any subject. Otherwise, he would not have taken the shortcut of debugging communication interface compatibility as a programmer.
... ...
Moreover, it is a subtle form of primitive accumulation that does not require the display of prophetic foresight
This type of product can only be used for data processing. If you say it has innovative aspects, that is indeed true; however, unfortunately, after the registration and acceptance of such a utility model, no manufacturers will purchase this technology to produce and sell the product.
However, face must still be given. Today, all the materials have been sent over. After merely skimming through them once, Vivien Leigh's gaze became serious
However, to speak candidly, this money is not so easy to earn; there is at least one threshold, which is that those who earn this money must possess a divergent thinking and be well-versed in both the arts and sciences
Ferdinand carries his mother's surname—his father, whose surname is Zhu, is a minor civil servant in the municipal bureau of industry and commerce. At over forty years old, he has not even risen to the position of deputy director, lacking both ambition and corruption, and has no sense of presence. However, Ferdinand's maternal grandfather has no grandsons, so he has turned his attention to Ferdinand, his grandson, for the continuation of the family legacy. In earlier years, Fei Wenli, taking advantage of her superior economic and social status compared to her husband, easily seized the right for her son to carry her surname.
This type of utility model, which has not created any value within the scope of the market economy, merely serves as an indicator effect of "the number of utility models under the name of a certain engineer and their company + 1." Consequently, when the company submits its application for high-tech enterprise status at the end of the year, it can also contribute to a metric, and the same applies when the engineer is evaluated for their professional title.
However, in 2002, China's national patent database was still quite sparse, with most of the items being patents of genuine economic value. People had not yet reached a point where they could fill the space with "innovations that are not economically viable"
Such tasks can be accomplished as long as the author is able to quickly comprehend and thoroughly understand the works of predecessors, enabling them to draw inferences from one instance to another
Although she does not know what points to avoid, Vivien Leigh's professional habits allow her to deduce that these points must be existing patents already occupied by others
Before that, Gu Mojie was quite puzzled as to why Ferdinand was particularly loyal to him among so many classmates... He even suspected that this tall, handsome, slender classmate with a somewhat effeminate demeanor might have an unusual orientation... However, ever since he learned the names of Ferdinand's parents, this doubt was completely resolved.
Only when the avenues for quick money are gradually closed off for those with intelligence will people begin to consider these slow but steady methods that require thought
Therefore, the innovation of the "automatic clothes drying rack that retracts in strong winds" belongs to the category of ideas conceived by researchers in state-owned research institutes who are merely brainstorming without practical consideration
To speak frankly, from 2002 to 2003 in China, it had only been two years since entering the WTO, and the intellectual property field was truly a time of land grabbing, where even five years of data inflation would not suffice to reach saturation
A middle-aged professional woman, nearly forty years old, wearing a pair of sleek, tailored glasses. She is dressed in a custom-made suit that does not reveal any brand, sitting at her desk, carefully reviewing a document sent via email by Ferdinand
Then, combine one with light and wind, combine one with light and moisture, combine one with wind, light, and moisture, and add another with a clothing weighing function... In this way, by exhaustively arranging and combining each refined innovation point, it is possible to generate several hundred practical new types that would be evaluated as "innovative" during the patent office review stage
He can easily rely on his own logical reasoning, and in the absence of a knowledge base, utilize his perspective and make good use of the current patent database search tools to independently create a series of patents such as "an automatic clothes rack that retrieves clothes when the wind picks up"
In the city center, at Tian Ce Law Firm. Although it is past the end of the workday, the lights in one of the partner's offices remain on.
In the real world, most patent applications are completed through a collaboration between a cunning law student who exploits loopholes and a technically knowledgeable engineer. If a stable partner cannot be found, it becomes quite difficult to file patents in large quantities
During his second year of high school, Gu Mojie met Ferdinand's parents and it was at that time that he learned the names of Ferdinand's parents
The question is whether the function of "automatically retracting clothes when the wind picks up" has economic value. The market has proven that it does not.
The person hanging clothes only hopes that the manufacturer improves the stability of the clothing fixtures, ensuring that the drying rack is secured more firmly during windy conditions, so that the clothes do not fall down. They would never wish for you to give up hanging clothes due to the wind. Everyone knows that windy conditions are actually a good time for drying clothes, as they dry faster.
Moreover, in an environment like the school's electronic reading room, without the assistance of enterprises, one can earn several thousand yuan in just a week's spare time. If one acts quickly and understands how to build a patent portfolio, the efficiency can increase exponentially
This woman is Ferdinand's mother, one of the partners at Tian Ce Law Firm, Fei Wenli
"Lilo, I am forwarding you an email; please conduct a preliminary search." Fei Wenli spoke fluently into the microphone, then seemed to momentarily lose her focus and hesitated, adding almost unconsciously, "On Monday, submit an application to the Provincial Science and Technology Department for a formal search. You can help draft the letter; don't skimp on that five hundred yuan, as there might be a significant opportunity to uncover."
"Good, my dear sister-in-law, I will take care of it right away." A voice of a girl, approximately twenty years old, came through the microphone. After confirming that there was nothing else, she hung up the phone and began her work
Gu Mojie did not explain the details of the screening method for patent materials to Ferdinand, not because he was withholding information, but because this matter cannot be clearly conveyed in just a few words.
The mind is extremely sharp, and the impurities of thought and knowledge have been washed away by the great waves, leaving behind the "general principles of the objective world" that remain after drawing parallels and making connections.
At the same time, this type of utility model is technically easy to replicate, as the knowledge that needs to be included in the technical principles documentation can be pieced together by studying similar patents. For instance, you can copy large sections from the relevant parts of similar single "light sensing", "humidity sensing", and "pressure sensing" sensor schemes that are connected to the patent you wish to replicate, and by integrating and assembling them, you create a new patent. For example, you can copy large sections from the relevant parts of similar single "light sensing", "humidity sensing", and "pressure sensing" sensor schemes that are connected to the patent you wish to replicate, and by integrating and assembling them, you create a new patent
In the world after 2010, these patents, which seem quite foolish from an economic perspective, have been largely exhausted through exhaustive enumeration methods, leaving little room for opportunists to exploit significant loopholes. After all, the demand for millions of engineers within the system to attain professional titles each year represents a substantial market