Chapter 933 Xiao Han, you can’t grasp the depth of the LNG ship

"Boss Chang, do you need to ask the comrades from the legal department to handle this?"

Looking at Chang Haonan, whose expression was uncertain, Lei Zhixing asked tentatively.

Of course, as a purely scientific research institution, the Torch Laboratory does not have a legal department.

But Torch Group has——

In fact, long before TORCH Multiphysics was officially released, in order to adapt to the intellectual property and computer software-related laws and regulations of other countries, Chang Haonan commissioned Teacher Yang Huimei to set up a legal department with a very broad business scope.

Over the years, the reason why Torch Group's products and services have been able to move smoothly in many countries without encountering any cases worth writing about is not only because of its own strong strength and the good relationship between Chang Haonan and some influential local companies, but also because of the rigorous, detailed and timely updated user manuals.

However, that's why.

Compared with its counterparts in other companies who are fighting against all odds, Torch Group's legal department is still slightly lacking in experience in practical operations, that is, litigation.

"Uh……"

Chang Haonan hesitated for a moment, but nodded in an instant:

"I'll contact Professor Yang and Director Song and hold a meeting of all departments of the group..."

"it is good!"

Lei Zhixing showed a relieved expression:

"They should be taught a lesson for stealing our patent so blatantly!"

It should be noted that in this round of overall game on the technical route of the second-generation membrane LNG ship, even if it is not a life-and-death struggle, the winner will most likely be the winner-takes-all, while the loser will find it difficult to raise his head in this field at least in the next 10-15 years, and can only take on some leftovers to barely survive.

Originally, the Hudong Factory, which had lost its initiative, had already made plans to strategically abandon the past decade, but at the most critical moment, it was revitalized by the BOG reliquefaction patent developed by Chang Haonan, and at least saw the possibility of victory.

However, if Samsung Offshore & Marine also uses the same level of reliquefaction technology, then China will have no chance of winning relying on the inherent lightweight advantage of Technigaz liquid cargo tanks.

Therefore, for Lei Zhixing, who has been working on this project for two years, this is tantamount to being ridiculed.

Being able to maintain rationality and not get angry is a sign of his mild temperament.

However, looking at the other party's excited reaction, Chang Haonan just touched his nose awkwardly:

"Uh……"

"Actually, Zhixing, the actual situation may be a little different from what you think..."

Lei Zhixing's expression suddenly froze:

"Mr. Chang, what you mean is..."

"never mind."

Chang Haonan waved his hand:

"You'll find out at the meeting tomorrow."

It is indeed difficult to express his thoughts in just a few words.

Besides, Lei Zhixing was angry at the moment, so it was not appropriate to talk about any in-depth topics.

Therefore, after starting over, Chang Haonan decided not to waste any more words for the time being and wait until the meeting to discuss it together...

……

The Torch Group itself is actually not very large, so it doesn’t take long to convene a meeting of middle and senior management.

Chang Haonan made a phone call and the next morning, except for Wei Yongming, who had nothing to do with the matter and couldn't leave, all the other department heads sat in the conference room.

As usual, Song Jingming made a brief opening speech and briefly introduced the current situation.

This time, not only Lei Zhixing, but most of the participants felt angry and amused.

The reason for being angry is naturally similar to the former.

And laugh...

This kind of blatant technology theft is simply fat meat fed to the legal department...

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the conference room became lively.

In the end, it was Chang Haonan who reached out and pressed down to calm the argument that had already gone somewhat off topic.

However, there are also some calmer people.

After the meeting room quieted down again, Kang Kaicai, the director of the External Relations Department who was in charge of external cooperation, asked:

"Boss Chang, although I don't really trust Samsung Marine's character, they are much more experienced in international commercial law and transnational patents than we are. Even if we consider it purely from a rational point of view, it is unlikely that they would reveal such a big flaw to us."

"So, will there be anything behind this..."

At this time, China has just joined the WTO for one year, so domestic companies will show some lack of experience in dealing with international trade disputes.

Many times, people just have to accept the loss and admit defeat.

This naturally includes Torch Group.

It can be said that except for the members of the Legal Affairs and External Relations departments, everyone else still has only a superficial understanding of these contents.

In addition to deploying his own plan, Chang Haonan also held this meeting today to take this opportunity to give everyone some training.

So, he nodded, agreeing with Kang Kai's opinion, and then turned to the head of the Legal Department, Dr. Hou Shunda, who is also an expert in international commercial law:

"Director Hou, please explain the situation in detail."

"it is good."

Hou Shunda slowly opened the folder in front of him:

"Although I understand your emotions, as a legal officer, I still have to pour some cold water on you to cool you down."

"Last night, we compared the previously registered patent description document with the design document released by Samsung Offshore Engineering, and finally confirmed..."

At this point, he paused slightly:

"It was finally confirmed that the other party basically circumvented our group's patent on the BOG reliquefaction system. Although there are some borderline cases, if we sue based on this, I'm afraid it will take a long time..."

"what?!"

Lei Zhixing, who was originally full of expectations, immediately sat up straight.

He only knew 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 line by line.

Now it’s naturally a little hard to accept.

"calm."

Chang Haonan remained calm, just stretched out his fingers and tapped the table lightly.

In fact, he knew this would be the case when he first saw the design document yesterday.

The reason why he was so shocked at that time was due to another reason.

“In fact, the liquefaction process of the BOG reliquefaction system itself, whether it is cascade type, refrigerant type, or expander type, is a fairly mature technology in the chemical industry.”

Facing his subordinates with different reactions, Chang Haonan slowly opened his mouth and explained:

"Their core patents were registered as early as last century, or even the century before last. Now the protection period has long passed. No matter who it is, it is impossible to re-apply for patents based on these contents."

"Of course, we can register patents for some of the peripheral technologies to obtain certain protection, but this registration method is very easy to be circumvented, especially for an old hand like Samsung Offshore, so it is also of little significance."

“So, when I submitted the patent application, I changed my mindset and registered a large number of patents focusing 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 thought that we were all professional shipbuilders and 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 the safety problem."

"We never expected that there would be someone so bold as to not care about his own life and change the design we made to ensure safety beyond all recognition. And then, without even testing it, he just painted on the design plan..."

Chang Haonan said this 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. Neither the Hudong Plant nor Lei Zhixing and Liu Fangping can currently only understand the specific design plan.

That’s why this misunderstanding happened.

In fact, from the perspective of hindsight, he did underestimate the nature of the Koreans.

In the past, South Korea did something similar when it was developing its own KUH1 "Perfect Eagle" helicopter (actually a copy of the Super Puma).

Because I didn't go through a detailed demonstration, I just thought about it and randomly modified the propeller hub, causing the main rotor of a helicopter to detach from the fuselage during flight and fly away...

Thinking about it this way, the things in front of me seem to have a sense of reason in the absurdity...

……

For a moment, the expressions of other people in the conference room were very interesting.

"so……"

Lei Zhixing, who was so excited that he almost slammed the table, couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed at this moment:

"Actually, we don't need to care about this matter at all?"

"That's not the case."

Chang Haonan waved his hand:

"After all, the other party did play some tricks, and the design plan obviously borrowed a lot from ours. Even if the lawsuit cannot reach a final result, it can give the comrades in the Ministry of Law some practice, and by the way, it can help our Torch Group and Hudong Factory to promote a wave of publicity."

"I'm wondering whether I should proactively remind Samsung Offshore Engineering that this technology carries a lot of risks and that it could easily lead to accidents if we mess around with it..."

Now, even Kang Kai and Hou Shunda were somewhat puzzled:

"Boss Chang, this...isn't necessary, right?"

"Yes, if we don't add fuel to the fire, we'll be giving them face..."

"If Samsung Offshore's LNG ship has a problem, wouldn't that be a huge benefit for us?"

"..."

Various doubts arise one after another.

In fact, Chang Haonan was also a little difficult 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 his nose bridge:

"But Samsung Offshore and Marine are just a bunch of bastards...these guys are really too bold. If those LNG ships are put into use, even I can't imagine how much trouble they will cause..."

In fact, if this is a normal transaction, Party A will also conduct relevant inspections before receiving the goods, and will most likely be able to keep unqualified products out.

But the problem is that Xi Zhuoer’s intention this time was to deceive and launch a sneak attack.

The Norwegians don't even wait for the delivery phase before starting their classic operation.

In the end, these eight LNG ships will definitely be sold as second-hand ships to an unknown buyer.

As for this kind of transaction, the degree of standardization is unclear.

“If Samsung Offshore & Marine inherits the glorious tradition of the Japanese and controls the risks within a very precise range, resulting in the risk not being detected during the test but causing major problems after it is put into use… such as an explosion, then it would be a major blow to the entire LNG transportation industry.”

“People don’t care whether your cargo tanks are from Gas-Transport or Technigaz, or whether your ship is built by Samsung Offshore or Hudong-Zhonghua. If it really explodes, I’m afraid all major ports will have to refuse LNG ships from docking the next day… This is also a big risk for us.”

"in addition."

Chang Haonan picked up the teacup and drank a sip of water, then continued:

"Although it sounds outrageous, in the eyes of many foreigners, several countries in East Asia are actually tied together..."

"Japanese companies just had scandals a few years ago. If Korean companies start to have scandals soon after, it may not be good for our image..."

This explanation made the expressions of the others become serious again.

"Isn't this a pure and unprovoked disaster..."

Kang Kai complained as if venting his anger.

But even though he complained, as the head of the external relations department, he knew that the situation that Chang Haonan described did exist.

As of 2001, China's influence itself was still at a relatively low level.

Indeed, it has not yet broken free from the shackles of the “East Asia” classification.

"Then... do we have to rush over to clean up their mess?"

Lei Zhixing also found it a little hard to accept.

"Of course that's impossible... We're not doing charity."

Chang Haonan denied it decisively.

For a moment, everyone was in the same dilemma as him.

Whatever choice you make, there are pros and cons.

And because there are so many variables, it’s hard to choose the lesser of two evils.

After a few minutes, Chang Haonan finally decided to cut the Gordian knot:

"never mind."

He took a deep breath:

"The lawsuit against Samsung Offshore & Marine is actually a wake-up call for them."

"If the other side insists on being stubborn, we are not their parents, there is no need to follow behind and serve them. When the time comes, we can just make a good cut in advance and try to reduce the impact on us..."

"The meeting is dismissed!"