Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The Beijing News is not a fixed newspaper, but a collective name for the Di newspapers copied from the capital. Many newspaper offices use this name to sell newspapers to outsiders.

After the special issue of "Beijing News" was released, newspaper copying shops in Beijing were shocked. Everyone who applied for the exam was trying to find out which one was so bold that they dared to sell imperial examination content under the banner of "Beijing News". Once something goes wrong with this matter, the entire newspaper copying company will be implicated.

Because of this, people from various houses gathered together to discuss this matter:

"There are exam questions from the first few subjects, as well as exercises from the Mingfa and Mingshu subjects."

"Who is so brave? Selling this under the banner of "Beijing News"?"

The newspaper copying shop in Beijing has a good reputation, but there are not many people there. Once these people got together to discuss it, they knew it was not done by people in the industry.

Moreover, no one among the newspaper copying companies can do this.

Someone whispered:

"The Beijing News special issue uses flower paper from the palace. I heard it was printed by the palace and sold by Jin Yiwei."

"The third son of the Zhang family went to inquire about the news, but was arrested by the Jin Yi Guard patrol. He is still digging out feces!"

This news did not spread widely, and many people were surprised when they heard:
"Mr. Zhang was arrested and even sent to dig out feces."

"Isn't he known as the meat on the hob? Why did he fail this time?"

The man whispered:

"When he was inquiring about information, he got a little too aggressive with the newsboy selling newspapers."

"The patrol officer said that he used violence to intimidate him. According to the "Public Security Management Punishment Regulations", he was sentenced to 10 days of labor correction."

"After he was arrested, he was directly sent to dig out feces, and he was not even asked to sweep the floor."

Ordinary labor corrections include sweeping the streets most of the time, and only occasionally picking up feces.

But after Zhang San was arrested, he was directly sent to dig out feces. It can be seen that his behavior was mostly hated by the guards.

However, after hearing some people say that those newsboys were descendants of Jinyiwei, no one was surprised -

The Weiwei Department is part of the Jinyiwei, and it is natural to punish Zhang San who bullies the children of the Jinyiwei.

Many people even mentioned caution. I know that those newsboys running around on the street cannot be bullied at will. If you provoke them, you will provoke the Jin Yiwei.

These pieces of news come together to spread a speculation more widely:
"The matter of the Beijing News special issue is said to be related to the palace."

"I just don't know if it was done by the eunuchs in the palace privately or under the instructions of someone else?"

"If it were that person, things would be difficult!"

Everyone knew who that person was referring to.

If the emperor gives an order, small businessmen like them have no choice but to obey.

Otherwise, after the establishment of the Capital Guard Office, those dung heads and dung tyrants who were attacked would be their fate.

Anyone who dared to resist was attacked by the Guards Department. The Weiwei Department even compiled the "Public Security Management Penalty Regulations" and used them as cases to explain to people in the capital.

If they don't want to be the subject of new regulations, they'd better be honest.

Therefore, after the background of the "Beijing News" special issue was pointed out, everyone tacitly agreed not to talk about it anymore.

An old man who has been working in a newspaper copying shop for decades and is very experienced in printing said:
"It's just flowering paper. It's not like we can't get this kind of paper."

"But the Beijing News special issue has sold tens of thousands of copies, and the handwriting is exactly the same. This is very strange."

"From my comparison, it has not changed the version even once."

"How is this done? What kind of engraving can be used in this way?"

Wax plates can only print a few hundred copies, while wooden engravings can be printed more often, up to a thousand copies. But after more than a thousand copies, the quality usually decreases and some writing becomes blurred. Therefore, the printing industry attaches great importance to the first printing and believes that the printing quality is the highest.

But this Beijing News special issue is different. Although the quality is high or low, it is mainly due to the problem of ink stains. The handwriting is exactly the same, and it seems that the engraving plate used has not been worn at all.

This left many people in the newspaper copying shop confused and wondering how to print it.

What they are particularly worried about is whether this method will be used in Dibao and print a large number of Dibao?

If the imperial newspaper was printed in this way and sold to ordinary people, their entire newspaper copying business would suffer a devastating blow——

Everyone has read the Di newspaper, who will read what they copied? The news legends they added are not that attractive.

Therefore, after the special issue of "Beijing News" appeared, all newspaper copy shops in Beijing were worried.

They were worried that this practice would bring disaster, and they were also worried that after this printing method was popularized, the newspaper copying guilds in Beijing would cease to exist.

Everyone gathered together today to discuss these issues.

They expected the leader of the newspaper copying company to come up with an idea.

However, Xie Liuye, the leader of the newspaper copying company, has never come here.

It was not until all the people applying for a room from each family arrived that Mr. Xie Liu came belatedly and apologized to everyone, saying:

"Please forgive me!"

"I just encountered something, and I kind of neglected everyone."

"Now that everyone who applied for a room is here, let's discuss this matter."

With that said, he took out an invitation and showed it in front of everyone.

Most of the people who work in newspaper copying shops are literate. People with sharp eyes have already seen that this is an invitation with a letter from the inner government supervisor, inviting them to go to the auction house to discuss matters on February 9th.

"So, is this really the palace's idea?"

Even the seal was used, and they were invited to the auction house to discuss matters. Some people began to realize that this was the idea of ​​the one in the palace——

What eunuchs do in private is not so formal.

What they need to discuss now is what to do?
Do you want to accept the invitation and go to the auction house to discuss matters?

“What’s worth keeping an eye on in a newspaper copy shop?”

"We have a small profit, but Master Wanli doesn't even pay us any money."

"What does the current emperor like about us?"

The reputation of newspaper copying companies in Beijing is not small, and "Beijing News" is even famous throughout the country. But to say how rich they are, it really doesn’t count.

After all, they use wax printing and print hundreds of copies at a time. Each copy sells for dozens of yuan, and the income is only about 10,000 yuan.

In addition, Di Bao does not print every day, and there is not that much news. Each agent only earns dozens of taels of silver every year, which can be considered a small profit.

Therefore, in the tenth year of Wanli, when there was a proposal to widen shop taxes and other banks, the newspaper copying bank, the publishing house, the bookstore, the tofu store, the bean flour store, the tailoring store, and the coal-burning store were exempted from paying taxes by Shuntian Prefecture. .

The emperor was eyeing this industry, which really surprised them.

But someone thought of it and said:
"The special issue of the Beijing News on exams is one tael of silver a piece, and the special issue of etiquette and calculation is five taels of silver a piece." "How much money do you think the palace made this time?"

Everyone made estimates one after another, and then were shocked:
"There are five to six thousand people participating in the examination this time. Most of them bought the special issue of the examination, and some people bought more than one copy. They can earn at least five to six thousand."

"There are also about 2,000 to 3,000 people participating in the Mingfa and Mingshu subjects. Each of them earns 5 taels of silver and can earn more than 10,000 taels."

"The total is more than fifteen thousand taels. It will take several years for our entire newspaper copying business to sell it!"

Each newspaper copying house may be large or small, but usually there are only a few or a dozen people who earn a hundred or ten taels of silver, and occasionally they can be rewarded with silver.

Earning more than 10,000 taels at a time was something they could never imagine.

After figuring this out, they understood why the emperor paid attention to this industry.

"It will be tried every three years, and this is the first time, so it is sold so expensively."

"Will it still sell like this in the future? Does the Emperor take this as a common thing?"

Worrying about this, some people worried that the emperor would not be able to earn so much in the future and would target the entire newspaper copying business.

Some people were not so worried, thinking that the emperor, who exempted merchants from purchasing, could not embarrass small merchants like them.

After final discussion, the overall opinion was to attend the meeting upon invitation. After all, they are not qualified to refuse the invitation from the inner palace supervisor.

On February 9th, when the first session of the examination began, Mr. Xie Liu took the people who copied the newspaper offices and went to the auction house.

The auction house is a new thing. It was newly built by the Internal Affairs Bureau this year. A large house was chosen in the Shichahai area as the auction venue. This place is very close to the stolen goods and punishment treasury, and the items in the stolen goods and punishment treasury in the palace can be transported out easily. It is also very convenient for the eunuchs in the palace to come here.

But it is not very convenient for people from newspaper copying companies to come here. After all, this is in Beicheng, and not many people gather here. Most newspaper copying agencies have offices in Nancheng District, which has a larger population.

After finally waiting for everyone to gather, Mr. Xie Liu led them into the auction house. When they were greeted by the little eunuch who was guarding outside, they were immediately startled.

In the auction house, there are various calligraphy and painting treasures on display. Each of them needs to be treated with care. You may not be able to afford it with all your wealth.

Many people feel that they have nowhere to go and are at a loss. You can only sit carefully in the rows of seats under the guidance of the little eunuch.

After waiting for a long time, a group of eunuchs came out hugging a big eunuch.

Everyone hurriedly stood up and saluted, and the leading eunuch Wang Chengen said:
"Everyone, sit down!"

"Wang Cheng'en, the chief minister of our family's internal affairs, was appointed by the emperor to be responsible for the Beijing News."

"What do you think? Are you willing to join the Beijing News Group?"

Everyone looked at each other, a little confused, and Xie Liuye bravely asked:

"What is Beijing News Group?"

"Please make it public, Your Majesty!"

Wang Chengen yawned, patted his head and said:
"Look at me, I'm so busy that I almost forgot about this."

"You guys take a look at this first, the investment documents of the Beijing News Group."

Ask the little eunuch next to you to hand over the investment documents to these people.

These documents were printed in wax, and everyone could get a copy. Everyone watched carefully and finally understood what the Beijing News Group was.

It turned out that this was an organization set up by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to integrate the newspaper industry in Beijing. Under it were the "Beijing News" editorial office, the Beijing News Agency, etc., which specialized in publishing the "Beijing News".

From now on, the name "Beijing News" will belong to the Beijing News Group, and other newspapers cannot use it without permission. If they want to use it, they must join the Beijing News Group and set up a sub-publication of the "Beijing News".

So this investment promotion is actually about recruitment. Incorporate all the newspaper offices in Beijing into the Beijing News Group.

This overbearing approach naturally dissatisfied some people. Zhang San’s brother Zhang Dadao said:
"The Beijing News is a newspaper copying company in the capital. Why did you take over it?"

"Even if you are from the palace, you can't be so unreasonable?"

Wang Chengen glanced at him and said calmly:

"Although the name "Beijing News" is used by Beijing newspaper copying companies, you do not have a registered trademark or exclusive use of this brand."

"Beijing News Group has registered a trademark with the Department of Commerce. From now on, this name will be exclusive to Beijing News Group and cannot be used by others."

"The same reason applies when the lawsuit reaches Dali Temple."

With that said, he asked the young eunuch beside him to explain the Commerce Department.

The Department of Commerce is an organization that everyone who applies for housing in Beijing knows. It is this organization's procurement that makes commercial procurement a thing of the past.

So as small businessmen, they have a good impression of the Commerce Department. After asking, I learned that the Department of Commerce has established a Trademark Office to be responsible for trademark and brand matters.

Registered trademarks are protected by law. Unregistered trademarks will not be protected unless they are well-known brands that have been used for many years and can be directly recognized as well-known trademarks.

A brand like Sanzi King will still be protected even if it is not registered. But things like squid, etc. are not protected.

However, if Sanziwang fails to register its trademark, it may be counterfeited. He thought it would be troublesome to defend his rights, so it would be better to register with the Trademark Office to obtain legal protection.

This explanation made the newspaper copy shop in Beijing realize that the trademark "Beijing News" has been registered by the Beijing News Group. If they still use it, they are infringing. When the lawsuit was brought to Dali Temple, they did not accept the lawsuit.

"What's going on!"

“Isn’t the Beijing News a well-known brand?”

Everyone who applied for a room felt aggrieved and thought it shouldn't be like this.

Wang Chengen said calmly:
"The Beijing News is a well-known brand, but it is a brand built by copying the Beijing News and infringing copyright, so it is not protected."

"Besides, anyone with the words Ming Dynasty, Jingcheng, Imperial Court, or Di Bao will be strictly reviewed to prevent anyone from using the name of the Imperial Court."

"Even if you register it, the Trademark Office will not approve it!"

This made the people who copied the newspaper feel cold. Knowing that the Beijing News brand was impossible to take back——

The laws of the imperial court are made by these people. How can they reason?

For example, I have never heard of the Trademark Office before and it will not be established for a long time. They directly registered the Beijing News brand and took it away. Even if they litigate, it is impossible to overturn the "Interim Trademark Regulations".

The provisions in the regulations are obviously targeted at them. If they continue to cause trouble, they will become a case in the regulations just like those shitty bullies.

After thinking about this clearly, they can only continue to read the investment documents to see if there is a way out.

Wang Chengen felt relieved when he saw them accepting their fate. The Trademark Office had only been established a few days ago, and it took him some time to understand what trademarks and brands were.

The emperor said that trademarks, like patents and copyrights, are one of the three most important intellectual property rights.

Because of this, when the patent law was enacted, the trademark law and copyright law were enacted, which were combined into intellectual property laws.

These laws are currently being formulated and there are only some interim regulations. If these people make trouble, things will be really difficult to deal with——

It will be no problem to win the lawsuit, but if you make a mistake, you will be looked down upon by the emperor.

Fortunately, the newspaper copycats were not confident and did not dare to raise objections to the Beijing News trademark being registered. As a result, he avoided a lot of trouble and continued to collect newspaper copying companies. (End of chapter)