A doctor who travels through two eras

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 actively 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 dealing with the government. They are afraid that the government will eat them up, from the plaintiff to 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 very useful? Will someone else intercept them halfway and then secretly apply for a patent on their own?"

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 be adjusted until the establishment of the ICAC in 1974, but collusion between police and criminals remained the norm, it just moved from above ground to underground, right, Han Chen.

"Uncle 5 and Uncle 6, our Lingnan Hall opened a Chinese medicine clinic in Temple Street. Do we have to pay protection fees to the society?"

Uncle Lin Wu complained:

"Why don't you have to pay? Not only do you have to pay a protection fee to the society, but you also have to pay a tea fee to the police, so that the clinic can run safely. If you don't pay this money, both the black and white worlds 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, and 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 are not rules, all restrictions are not 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 filled with 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's very clear and very 2013-style.

Lin Sanqi couldn't find the drug patent application counter, so he thought it should be the "Patent Registration Office" and sat down on a chair.

There was a bespectacled young lady at the counter. When she saw a young man named Xiao K sitting down, she asked him a question in a businesslike manner:
"Hello sir, how can I help you?"

"Hello, beautiful girl. I want to register two patents for Western medicine."

"Drug patents? When did our pharmaceutical factories in Hong Kong have the ability to develop?"

Lin Sanqi's words instantly attracted 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 information."

Lin Sanqi took out a thick sheet of printed paper from the bag and put it on the cabinet. He could still smell the strong smell of ink. All the words on it were in English.

All these materials were prepared by three doctoral students to help Lin Sanqi, and were filled out in the required format 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, where letters were typed out 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 for office work, and everything needed to be proofread manually, especially patent applications. Because the work was too cumbersome, 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 bespectacled girl raised her head and said with a smile:

"A miracle has really happened in Hong Kong. No one has applied for patents for these two drugs until last year, at least no one in Hong Kong has applied for them."

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 large amount of investment. This is the first time that 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 listed as 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, shell companies are numerous, 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 any Lingnantang Pharmaceutical Company in Hong Kong. However, he quickly figured out that this should be a newly established shell company that was used to apply for patents.

The separation of patents and companies is a common practice in the business world.

The man in the suit asked again, "Mr. Lin, what do these two drugs you applied for treat?"

Lin Sanqi replied politely: "Rifampicin is an antibacterial drug, and ethambutol is a tuberculosis antibacterial drug. 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. He thought, tuberculosis is the number one killer infectious disease. It's not just serious in China, it's also very serious abroad. Why are you guys so indifferent when I've come up with a powerful drug?

In fact, this cannot be blamed on these Hong Kong staff.

After all, Lin Sanqi had a God's perspective and knew that the tuberculosis quadruple therapy consisting of rifampicin and ethambutol was a revolutionary treatment for tuberculosis and had changed the course of human disease.

But the staff of the Hong Kong Registrar General's Office don't understand, not to mention that there are so many kinds of anti-tuberculosis drugs on the market, and everyone is used to it.

This is actually a good thing for Lin Sanqi, as it will avoid attracting attention and being targeted.

The bespectacled girl started to follow the procedures. After taking Lin Sanqi's information, she began to fill out forms and input data. Finally, she said:
“Mr. Lin, the scope of drug patent registration is now divided into two types: 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, "Which member states are there?"

"If it is an international patent, basically all developed countries and Commonwealth countries currently recognize it, including the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Japan, West Germany, India, etc., a total of 56 countries."

“I applied for an international patent.”

Lin Sanqi doesn't care about the Commonwealth countries, they are all poor countries. Even for a big country like India, do you want to ask them to collect patent fees? Don't dream.

Lin Sanqi values ​​all developed countries, which are a big piece of fat meat, and are also the main purpose of his coming 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 began to explain 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. Stopping the payment will be considered 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 takes 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 in 62 or 63, 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 60 or 61?
Then Lin Sanqi's efforts would be in vain.

Therefore, Lin Sanqi must get the patent before European and American pharmaceutical companies, cut them off and suffocate them.

After they spent huge amounts of money and a lot of manpower and material resources and finally succeeded in developing the drug and even published a paper on it, when they applied for a patent, someone else had already gotten 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 them, which means that the materials of both parties are exactly the same, except for the time difference. How does the other party explain it?
In 1960, Lin Sanqi had already produced complete drug clinical trial data and filed an application for a drug patent. In 1960, you were still conducting Phase I clinical trials. 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 rule in favor of the 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 line 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.

Lin Sanqi would have no place to cry. Lin Sanqi quietly took out an envelope from his briefcase, which contained 2000 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.

2000 Hong Kong dollars is equivalent to the half-year income of 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, 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 the 18-month patent investigation period is too long. Is there any way to shorten it?"

The four-eyed girl thought for a moment and continued softly:

"I can help you with Hong Kong within three days, but my boss will be needed to handle the Eagle Country. If he is willing to help, I believe the patent certificate can be applied for within a month."

In the process of applying for a drug patent, the Patent Office will first conduct a preliminary review of the applied drug.

The content mainly involves reviewing the patent application, specification, drawings, abstract, etc. to ensure that they comply with the law and do not conflict with other similar patents.

This process can be fast or slow.

The bespectacled girl 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, effects, 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 conflicts.

Also, 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 a year or two to get it done.

Of course, this process can be cheated, and it is very simple to do. As long as you make sure that there are no similar patents in other countries, the Hong Kong Registration Office or the superior Intellectual Property Office of the United States can directly approve it.

There is no need for laboratory re-testing or repeated evaluation by an expert group.

Anyway, whether the drug patent is real or not, and whether it can protect the interests of the applicant, is of no importance to the Patent Office or the Hong Kong Registry.

You provided the information. If someone exploits a patent loophole later, it is your own fault, not the patent office's fault...

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 better ability to cleanse the troubles.

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 office 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. It might be because she was used to being a pimp, so she reminded him:

"The gentleman drinking coffee over there is my boss, Sir Wen Wenyao. I will call him over to that room later. Just give him this amount."

After saying that, the bespectacled girl stretched out her hand. Lin Sanqi understood and nodded gently: "Thank you for your help."

The bespectacled 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 and walked over, making a gesture 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 5000 Hong Kong dollars in Sir Wen's suit pocket.

"Don't worry, Mr. Lin. I'll take care of the patents for your two drugs. I'll definitely give you good news in two weeks at the earliest or a month at the shortest."

Lin Sanqi smiled and made an excuse:
"Sir Wen, I have plans to go on a business trip to the United States recently. If the patent is approved and I am not in Hong Kong, please call the number on my business card and ask someone to pick up the patent certificate."

"Okay, okay. It seems that 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 traveled through two eras and had long been trained to speak human words to human beings and lies to ghosts. He could tell lies without hesitation:

"Sir Wen, you don't know that the pharmaceutical industry seems to be quite profitable, but in fact, the investment is too huge, and you can go bankrupt if you are not careful. In order to fight for business, I have invested more than 1 billion Hong Kong dollars in drug research and development. In the future, I will inevitably have to trouble Sir Wen frequently."

Wen Wenyao thought that this was indeed a big name and worth interacting with.

Lin Sanqi thought, this is a greedy fish. If it is fed well, won't it be a big backdoor for patent applications in the future? We must win it over and increase the stakes.

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, this 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 still deeply admired Chinese medicine and health preservation.

Nowadays, 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 to Hong Kong dollars, so Lin Sanqi's move can be said to be a big deal.

"Oh, Brother Lin, I, how can I be so embarrassed?"

"Brother Wen, we hit it off right away, so there's no need to be polite. I'll trouble 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 some disdain:
"Where did you learn this from? Your father is an upright man, and your elder brother is also a gentleman with an open mind. How come you have become so slick?"

Lin Sanqi shrugged his shoulders:

"I just paid for a VIP service, just like going to an amusement park, others have to queue up, but I paid for a 'Ultraspeed Pass'. This is not normal. Anything that can be solved with money is a small matter."

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 cannot be without such opportunists."

After returning to the clinic on Temple Street, Lin Sanqi invited his fifth and sixth uncles to the inner room and closed the door.

"Uncle 5, Uncle 6, 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 the recipe for Angong Niuhuang Wan, and this one is the recipe for Pian Zai Huang. You must have heard how precious these two medicines are. These are the production methods. Remember them and burn them.

There is also this secret recipe called "Duan Xue Liu", which is more effective than Yunnan Baiyao. It can stop bleeding in a few minutes when used for injuries caused by falls. There are many gangs in Hong Kong, and street fights are common. This medicine is definitely suitable for them.

The last secret recipe is called Aoaojiao, which is used to help men get aroused. 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 a few times:

“You must keep these four secret recipes well. You can make medicines based on the secret recipes and sell them. I see that there are not many patients in our Lingnan Hall Chinese Medicine Clinic. These four secret recipes can become our secret weapons. I believe they will be of great help to our business.

Throughout history, 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 him down. Wait for you to come to Hong Kong next time, 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 10 and Uncle , these are wild ginsengs that are years old. You can keep them in your store. Whether you want to use them to show off your store or sell them to wealthy people, 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 be aging prematurely. How come they remembered that their nephew came empty-handed, so when did these 10 ginsengs appear?
"Okay, okay, Qizi, hundred-year-old wild ginseng is a top-notch and scarce product in Hong Kong. The two of us can hype it up or put an advertisement 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 kept the wild ginseng as a treasure and refused to show it to others. Then there would be no point in him taking out the ginseng. He might as well sell it for tens of millions in 2013.

Unconsciously, Lin Sanqi had already put himself in the role of "young master" and continued to exhort:

(End of this chapter)