Chapter 652: Seeking Heaven

The latest website: Houston, home of the Rockets.

The Lakers visited Houston, although it was an away game, but the media generally believed that the Lakers would win the game.

Because the Lakers are the defending champions and the Rockets were one of the five worst teams in the league last season.

However, after entering the game, the OK combination was caught off guard.

When Francis at his peak played, it was true that people blocked killing people, and Buddha blocked killing Buddha. In normal games, Bryant was completely beaten by Francis.

However, in this game, Kobe did not feel good, and his shooting percentage was very bad, only a little more than 20%.

O'Neal, another thigh of the Lakers, was covered in a bit of a circle.

Opposite O'Neal, of course, is Chairman Yao, who is still in his first year as a rookie.

In this game, O'Neal scored 31 points and 13 rebounds. In terms of data, he crushed Chairman Yao with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocks.

However, of Chairman Yao's 6 blocks, 5 were given to O'Neal.

As the No. 1 center in the NBA, the same person lost five of them in a game, which really made O'Neal lose face.

At the beginning, when O'Neal ate his first hot pot, he felt that it didn't matter. After all, it was not ashamed to be taken by someone taller than himself.

But when he was taken out for the third time in a row, O'Neal was completely angry.

Shaquille O'Neal is the No. 1 center in the NBA after all. I've been slapped by three of you, a rookie, and I don't want my face!

So O'Neal eagerly wanted to get back to the scene. He also wanted to give Chairman Yao a big hot pot, but he quickly discovered that the 2.26-meter big man in front of him was actually playing a fallback jumper!

2 meters 26 fallback jumper, who can take it?

The angry O'Neal had no choice but to turn on the fire and start the full attack mode.

This is also the first Yao Sha duel. In the end, the defending champion Lakers and last season's Yubei Rockets scored in overtime, and then the defending champion lost to the Yubei team.

side of the field,

Li Weidong and James Bond sit side by side.

Boss, this big man is very popular in Houston! James Bond said.

Yeah, since Olajuwon left, the Houstonians have been waiting for the second Olajuwon. Now they pin their hopes on Yao. Li Weidong replied.

James Bond continued: Our other spokesperson, Stoudemire's data is also very good. This time we have chosen the right one!

Playing next to Nash, the data is always not too bad. Li Weidong paused, and then asked: How is the situation of the second-place pick?

You mean Jay Williams, right? James Bond thought for a moment and said, By the standard of second place, his performance is very average. Although there is occasionally a wonderful performance, most of the time It's all pretty mediocre.

Adidas spent 100 million to sign him, and I must regret it now! Li Weidong said with a smile.

I heard that the German headquarters of Adidas has been very dissatisfied with Sony Vaccaro, and they are likely to change the head of North America.

James Bond went on to say: And now Adidas is in the throes of a patent lawsuit!

Tianzu? Is it the core sneaker technology of Adidas? Li Weidong asked immediately.

Yes, that's the one. There may be nearly 100 models of sneakers under Adidas that use Tianzu technology, but now, if the price can't be negotiated, Adidas may lose Tianzu. James Bond explained .

What's going on, tell me in detail. Li Weidong said.

So James Bond explained; Actually, the original technology of Tianzu does not belong to Adidas. The person who invented Tianzu is Frampton Ellis, who used to be a track and field athlete at Duke University.

Ellis once had to say goodbye to his sports career because of an ankle injury, so he decided to invent a safe and stable shoe to protect athletes' feet.

Ellis found in his research that human beings with bare feet are more stable than when wearing shoes, so after three years of research, he made a barefoot sole technology and applied for a patent.

Later, Adidas obtained the patent use rights of bare feet from Ellis, and made improvements. While imitating the state of human bare feet, the outer edge of the traditional rolling unloading was increased, so that the deflection angle of the ankle during the movement was reduced and the stability was enhanced. sex.

Then there are modules set up at multiple key points to form a dynamic stability triangle on the forefoot, so that the entire foot will be in a natural state similar to bare feet, which is the natural foot.

Adidas officially released the Tianzu technology in 1996. From 1997 to 2001, Adidas released more than 100 sports shoes with Tianzu technology. Not only basketball shoes, but also tennis shoes, running shoes, etc. are equipped with natural foot technology.

However, the patent authorization between Adidas and Ellis expired in 2001, and then the two parties did not reach an agreement on the renewal of the contract, so they went to court against Bo, and the lawsuit is still ongoing.

Is it because the licensing fee has not been negotiated? Li Weidong asked.

The licensing fee is the main reason. James Bond went on to explain: When Ellis licensed the barefoot technology to Adidas, he did not expect that the sky would become the signature of Adidas.

Therefore, Ellis felt that the original licensing fee was too low, and he suffered a big loss. Therefore, during the renewal negotiations, the lion opened his mouth and asked for a very high price. Although I don't know Ellis' specific quotation, but according to According to the grapevine, Ellis wants $100 million in licensing fees.

One hundred million US dollars? Li Weidong thought for a while and said; Tianzu's sneakers are selling so well. In terms of the sales of the Tianzu series, one hundred million US dollars is not expensive.

It's $100 million a year! James Bond added.

Then this is really a lion's mouth! Such a high price, even if Adidas is rich and rich, it is impossible to agree. Li Weidong said.

But Ellis believes that Tianzu is the core product of Adidas, so Adidas will never give up Tianzu, so even if he opens his mouth, Adidas must eventually compromise.

James Bond paused, then introduced: But Adidas is not easy to deal with, they went directly to apply for Tianzu's patent.

Wait a minute, isn't Tianzu's patent in Ellis' hands? Li Weidong asked immediately.

Accurately speaking, Ellis has a patent for bare feet, and Adidas believes that the natural feet they use have made many modifications to the original bare feet patent, which is completely different from bare feet and is a new type of patent. Lis naturally does not agree with Adidas's statement, so the two sides will go to court against Bo. James Bond explained.

...

In the 1970s, Adidas beat Converse to become the number one sports brand in the world.

However, since Nike signed Jordan, it has risen rapidly. By the early 1990s, Nike had surpassed Adidas and stood on the throne of the world's number one.

In that era, Adidas did fall into a low ebb. It was defeated by Nike in the North American market, and faced the double attack of Puma and Nike in the European market. The days were quite sad.

At that time, Adidas had just abandoned the classic clover logo, and the three-striped logo that later generations knew had not yet been formed, so it was in a state of bald head.

Even on such important occasions as the World Cup, the jerseys of the teams sponsored by Adidas only have the English letters of Adidas and no Adidas logo.

People thought that Adidas, a time-honored brand, would fall into decline, but the advent of Tianzu gave Adidas a successful turnaround.

At that time, the most talked about was Nike's Zoom series. However, after the advent of the Tianzu series, the mantra of American sneaker lovers changed from Are you wearing Zoom? to Are you wearing Tianzu?

The early days also had many shortcomings, such as excessive weight and lack of wear resistance, but these were eventually solved as Adidas used more new materials.

The Zoom series, which Nike had high hopes for, could not resist Tianzu's offensive at all. They had to take out Shox technology in advance to fight against Adidas' Tianzu.

It can be said that it is precisely because of the advent of the Tianzu series that Adidas, which has fallen into the quagmire, will be reborn.

But unfortunately, the lawsuit between Adidas and Ellis ended up ruining Tianzu.

Ellis felt that he was making less money, and lions opened up in the patent renewal negotiations.

Adidas simply denied the account and said that my Tianzu is not your patent, and wanted to bypass Ellis's patent right.

The lawsuit lasted for two years, and although it ended in mediation, it was ultimately a lose-lose situation. Adidas gave up the Tianzu series, and Ellis did not get a penny.

It was not until the barefoot technology passed the patent protection period that Adidas resurrected Tianzu.

Nike is also relieved because of this. If Adidas didn't lose its natural feet, Nike's immature Shox technology might have been overtaken by Adidas.

...

James Bond's introduction made Li Weidong fall into contemplation.

The current Feiyue sneakers, although the sales are good, the spokespersons are also very top, but there is no core technology that can be used.

Nike has its famous air cushion technology, a new type of Zoom technology, and even the Shox technology that has been criticized by others is quite famous.

Adidas' core technologies include adiPRENE, A3 structural shock absorption, and the famous BOOST technology of stepping on shit.

Even domestic brands have independently developed some core technologies in later generations, such as Anta's energy ring and Li Ning's Li Ning bow.

If Feiyue Sports wants to go on in this industry, it must have a core technology that can be used.

If you rely on your own research and development, it will be difficult to come up with a decent technology without ten or eight years.

So Li Weidong set his sights on Tianzu!

Tianzu's reputation is big enough, and the sales volume is also very good. If you bring it over, you can directly use it as the core technology of Feiyue Sports.

Only Li Weidong said, James, I am very interested in this natural foot technology. I will try to contact Ellis and ask about the patent licensing fee.

He wants 100 million US dollars a year. Even if it is a 30% discount, we can't afford it. If we have so much money, we might as well develop it ourselves. James Bond said.

We can give him a share. For example, by licensing the patent to us, we will give him a certain percentage of the profit for every pair of sneakers with the Tianzu patent. Li Weidong said.

Okay, I'll try to get in touch with Ellis. James Bond then asked: How much is this percentage more appropriate?

Li Weidong asked, How long until the Tianzu patent in Ellis' hands expires?

James Bond replied: Ellis's patent was applied for in 1991, and then he signed a ten-year patent license with Adidas, which expired in 2001, and the lawsuit between the two sides started from that time.

The patent law of the United States stipulates that the validity period of non-design patents is twenty years, so Ellis's patent should expire in 2011.

Li Weidong nodded, pondered for a moment and then said, That can't exceed 25% profit at most.

For the sake of Tianzu technology, Li Weidong is willing to give a quarter of the profit, which is already a very sincere price.

...

A few days later, Li Weidong received a reply from James Bond.

That Ellis is really greedy. He asked for 70% of the profit as a patent licensing fee, and then I talked to him about 50%, and the negotiation couldn't go on. I think it's hard for him to lower the price, after all, he Dare to ask Adias for $100 million a year! James Bond said.

Five percent, it's really whimsical! Li Weidong snorted coldly.

50% also means that every time Feiyue Sports sells a pair of shoes with Tianzu technology, it must give half of the profit to Ellis.

If it is a new patent in the high-tech industry, that's all. A sneaker patent more than ten years ago, and want to enjoy 50% of the profit, is simply a dream!

It has to be said that Ellis is too greedy.

To put it another way, if Ellis was not greedy, he would have reached an agreement with Adidas long ago, and the Tianzu series would not be ruined.

I just heard Li Weidong say: 50% is definitely impossible. Since Ellis is not willing to lower the price, then I will find a way to force him to lower the price.

Boss, what should we do? James Bond asked immediately.

You can do two things for me first. First, reveal to the media that we, Feiyue Sports, intend to purchase Tianzu's patent rights and have now entered the substantive negotiation stage.

Second, you design a sneaker with natural foot technology as soon as possible. Remember, this shoe does not need to be very practical, but it must be fashionable enough. Li Weidong said.

Okay, boss! James Bond agreed without hesitation.

When it comes to making trendy shoes, James Bond is definitely doing his part.

Later, Li Weidong called the Jinjiang sneaker factory.

Hey, Boss Huang, I'm Li Weidong! I want to ask you for help with something. Do you know someone who sells fake shoes?