Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 223 Patent Application
Monday, October 4.

Larry, along with Matthew and the other two, arrived at Goldman Sachs.

Goldman Sachs always looks so busy, as if these days are repeating themselves endlessly.

Larry and Mr. Dunbar had come several times, so they went straight to Henry Goldman's office without hesitation.

Henry Goldman was standing at the window with a cup of tea. When he saw the three of them arrive, he quickly put down his teacup. "Mr. Livingston, did you bring your assistant?"

Larry gestured to Matthew beside him, “This is my… no, not my assistant, he’s my senior partner. Matthew Browning.”

Henry Goldman smiled and quickly stepped forward to shake hands with Matthew.
“Mr. Browning, hello. It’s kind of you to come all the way from Boston, but we have a lot of specific technical details to check with you during the company’s establishment process.”

Matthew nodded and said, "I will definitely cooperate fully."

At this moment, Larry suddenly interrupted their conversation, "Mr. Goldman, could you please find me a patent agent? We need to apply for a patent."

Henry Goldman smiled. "Are you applying for a patent? The quick kind, or the conventional one?"

Now, whenever Larry sees Henry Goldman's smiling face, he can't help but think of hyenas on the African savanna. A hyena's smile sends chills down your spine.

Larry paused for a moment before saying, "Of course it has to be fast. I must ensure that our patents become a reality as soon as possible, otherwise we won't dare to release many of our inventions to the outside world."

Henry Goldman nodded and said slowly, "Do you consider this another business consulting deal, or..."

Larry frowned deliberately. "If your agent can only provide us with average speed, then don't bother with any business consulting. Consider it a friendly favor."

Henry Goldman pursed his lips, but he couldn't completely suppress the smile on his face. He said to Larry,

"The standard preliminary examination for a patent application takes two months. During these two months, the patent office only examines the document format of your patent. Only after that will they publish your patent. The legal requirement from preliminary examination to patent publication is within 18 months..."

Larry listened to Henry Goldman speak, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. He turned to look at Matthew, who nodded knowingly, indicating that Henry Goldman was right.

Larry waved his hand, somewhat resigned, and said to Henry Goldman, "Let's get straight to the point. How fast can you find a patent applicant?"

"No more than six months. I can hire the best patent attorneys and find in-house patent examiners for you. As long as they cooperate, you can have a perfect 'zero-defect submission'," Henry Goldman said slowly with a smile.

They were used to his way of speaking, so they interrupted him and said directly, "Just get to the point, how much?"

Henry Goldman also immediately switched gears.
"Based on my initial assessment, to gain an overwhelming advantage in this matter, you need to prepare the following budget."

First, there are the explicit fees paid to the 'professional team,' which generally include: full-service from a top-tier patent attorney team, covering drafting, filing, responding, and process management, estimated at $2000. Official fees and other miscellaneous expenses, including application fees and examination fees, are estimated at $400.

Secondly, there's the additional expense required to ensure the process runs 'smoothly'. To get our friends to demonstrate maximum efficiency, they need to see sufficient 'sincerity'. This cost is estimated to be between $500 and $2000, depending on the speed and the perfection of the final result you expect.

Therefore, the initial operating budget totals approximately $2900 to $5000. Please note that this is only the basic investment to ensure the patent can be granted quickly.

Larry frowned and said coldly, "So, if it's just about pulling strings and bribing, where is Goldman Sachs' value?"

Henry Goldman flashed that hyena-like grin again. "Of course, we'll offer our solution. If you can pay this amount, I can have a patent attorney find someone willing to replace your patent. For example, if you've applied for a firearms patent, we'll find another person who's also applied for the same patent, and then..."

This time it was Larry's turn to be surprised. He thought to himself, "Impersonation is allowed? Isn't this just like cheating on an exam?"

Larry hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Is this okay? Is it legal and compliant?"

Henry Goldman maintained a slightly serious expression before continuing, "Mr. Livingston, you know me well. Goldman Sachs never does anything illegal or irregular! In addition, Goldman Sachs will charge you an additional 15% commission."

Larry gave Henry Goldman a deep look, then gave a helpless smile. "Impressive! Alright, go find that patent attorney you mentioned..."

Henry Goldman maintained his cheerful expression and turned to make a phone call.

Larry and his two friends exchanged glances and noticed that both of them had expressions of deep emotion on their faces.

Matthew smiled as he watched Larry shake his head repeatedly, his expression seemingly saying, "You can do it like this?"

Larry whispered something to him, "This is Goldman Sachs!"

Matthew had no recollection of the name Goldman Sachs, but he nodded nonetheless and made a mental note of it.

A little while later, Henry Goldman came back and said to Larry, "He'll be here in 15 minutes."

Larry nodded, and then had Matthew and Henry Goldman begin discussing matters related to setting up the company.

Next, the two began discussions about some technical details used in several companies.

Henry Goldman was holding a notebook with many specific questions on it.

For example, what specific testing conditions are required for the test site? What testing dates are needed for the test site?

Matthew responded to the questions accordingly. The two discussed the details at length, and after they had finalized all the important details, the patent attorney arrived.

The patent attorney wore a top hat wrapped with red ribbons, which seemed out of place with his seemingly old-fashioned expression.

But once he sat down to work, the lawyer displayed a high level of professionalism. He first inquired about the patent application requirements for rifles and pistols that Matthew had mentioned, and then asked many specific questions.

Matthew provided him with sketches of two firearms, which the other man studied for a long time before nodding and saying...
"Listen, if you want your design to be patented, it must meet three ironclad rules:"
First, novelty. Your design must be unprecedented, and the same technology must not be found in any publicly available information worldwide.

Second, creativity. It cannot be a simple improvement on existing technology; it must have outstanding substantive features and significant progress that make it 'non-obvious' to peers.

Third, practicality. It must be manufactureable and produce positive results. Your pistol design clearly meets this requirement.

These three points are the core of patent examination, and our task is to fully demonstrate these three points.

Matthew nodded in agreement. “Rest assured, I will accompany you throughout the preparation of your patent documents to ensure that you can submit a flawless patent document.”

The patent attorney nodded, gave Henry Goldman a long look, and then handed Matthew a business card.

"Alright, starting this afternoon, come to this place to find me. I will help you with the application documents and also help you find people who are willing to give up their patent numbers!"

Matthew took the business card, looked at it carefully, and then put it in his shirt pocket.

Seeing the patent attorney about to leave, Larry quickly stopped him and then said to Matthew, "What about the patent for that cash register I asked you to prepare? Give it to the lawyer as well!"

Matthew patted his head to indicate that he had forgotten, then took another stack of documents from his suitcase and handed it to the patent attorney.

The patent attorney took the documents and glanced at them, then suddenly frowned. He didn't speak, but continued reading a few more pages of the cash register description before finally looking at Matthew and Larry with a frown.
"Did you create this thing independently? Without referencing any existing machines?"

Matthew nodded, but a look of hesitation crossed his face. He then turned to look at Larry.
"It was invented by the two of us. To be precise, Mr. Livingston contributed his vision, and I carried out the invention of the machine..."

The patent attorney turned to look at Larry, his expression very strange. He muttered, "What a coincidence..."

He then placed the stack of documents in his hand, a regretful expression on his face.

"Gentlemen, I regret to inform you that the cash-collecting machine you've developed is virtually identical to the one from National Cash Register Company, and they've already obtained a patent for it..."

Larry's eyes narrowed to slits as he hurriedly asked, "What kind of company are you talking about?"

"NCR, National Cash Register Company, is headquartered in Ohio. The owner is John Patterson. They have been frantically applying for related patents, even different styles of cash register drawers... It's just that this machine hasn't been sold to the East Coast yet, so you haven't seen it here yet."

As the other person continued speaking, Larry's face grew increasingly disappointed. Then, he nodded, resignedly saying...

"That's really... unfortunate. I didn't expect that someone had already applied for a patent for this machine."

Larry really hadn't expected that the machine had already been invented; he thought the machine he had Matthew make was unique.

Now that it has been invented, I don't need to worry about it anymore.

It's a shame that this groundbreaking gadget can't make money from it anymore.

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to accept my fate.

Larry turned to stare out the window, a faint sadness rising in his heart.

Matthew's face also showed disappointment. After all, no one wants to be told that someone else has already registered the patent for the machine they have worked so hard to invent.

Henry Goldman also showed a regretful expression.

The patent lawyer, however, was unimpressed, and simply sighed in agreement with the majority's frustrated expression, saying...
"It's a real shame, this thing has a very high gross profit margin, around 50%. I heard that the company that sells this machine, the National Cash Register Company, has an annual net profit growth of over 40%, and last year's gross profit reached $90..."

Upon hearing this, Larry jumped to his feet and asked in a sharp tone, "What did you just say was the gross profit margin of this machine? And what is their annual revenue?"

His voice was cracking a bit when he spoke.

The patent attorney was a little puzzled, but repeated, "That company's revenue doubles every two and a half years, and last year's gross profit was close to $100 million..."

Larry stared at the patent attorney, swallowed hard, and thought to himself, "This is a damn niche market that can generate a million dollars a year!"

It's said that 100% profit can drive capital crazy!
You want me to accept my fate? I'll give you a piece of my mind!

I refuse to accept my fate!

Today I'll be a heartless capitalist. What's a patent anyway?
I'm going to take down patents!

John Patterson, I curse your ancestors!
(End of this chapter)