IBM's counterattack came unusually quickly and fiercely. However, IBM's patent lawsuit against Aikang Company, although it was not expected by everyone, did not exceed everyone's expectations. The patent stick is one of the most common and effective means for large companies in the IT industry to attack their competitors.

"Of the seven patents that IBM sued us for infringement, 5 involved ABC-3 computers and 2 involved ABC-1 and ABC-2 computers!" said Clarion briefly briefing Li Xuan on the way.

After Li Xuan arrived at the headquarters of Dongfang Electronics Central, Han Peng, the chairman of Aikang, was already waiting in his office, he had just returned from a plane to London, and he would soon fly to the United States after Li Xuan reported the situation.

"What is the specific situation, how is Ai Kang going to deal with it?" Li Xuan didn't have much nervous expression on his face, but asked with a relaxed expression.

It is said that IBM has a large contingent of intellectual property lawyers, and it spends more than $100 million a year to support them, and these people always have to show their own value! IBM's newly launched personal computer products have not only failed to reverse the bad impression that IBM has been arrogant, bloated, and inefficient in recent years. On the contrary, they were criticized again, and they naturally had to find a way to divert the public's attention!" Han Peng shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Aikang is a company that is now in the limelight in the personal computer market, and as a result, IBM has been attacked as a leader.

"What is the probability that we will lose the case for those allegedly infringing patents? How much of an impact will it have on Aikang?" Li Xuan continued to ask.

"Among these seven patents, the two patents ABC-1 and ABC-2 are not very important core patents, and even if they lose the lawsuit, they will only pay a fine of one or two million US dollars. IBM's main target is the ABC-3 computer. Two of the five patents relate to the number of motherboards, bus and circuit interfaces, and the remaining three are concentrated in the architecture instruction set of the ERM-1 processor.

For the first two patents, we obtained the technical license of the same patent from the Bell Sil room, which was able to circumvent IBM's patent trap. As for the last three ERM-1 processor instruction set patents, our technicians found that their arguments were not rigorous and there were many loopholes to be caught based on the appeal materials provided by IBM. Moreover, we have applied for dozens of new patents with unique instruction sets for the ERM architecture, and we are confident enough to convince the USPTO to reject IBM's infringement claim!" said Han Peng with confidence on his face.

At the time of the launch of the product. A detailed list of all patents that may be involved will be drawn up and then demined one by one. Although it is impossible to guarantee that there will be no infringement, at least there will be no serious infringement incidents that will lead to such strict consequences as forcing one's own products to be released on the market.

Therefore, IBM's proposal to prohibit the sale of Aikang's ABC series computers in the U.S. market. It is unlikely that such a request will be upheld by the courts. Li Xuan believes that IBM's intellectual property lawyers, who are paid high salaries, will not be unaware of this. But they still made such unreasonable claims to the courts in order to intimidate consumers. No longer buy ABC series computers, which are personal computer products with potential legal risks.

As long as the consumer is affected. If they do not buy Aikang's products before the lawsuit is over, some people may choose IBM's PCs as a replacement for ABC computers, so that their goals will be achieved.

IBM's accusation of infringement of the ERM instruction set is pure nonsense. RISC (Reduced Instruction Set) architectures are still in the early stages of development, and all companies hold very few patents.

Although IBM was the first company to propose the RISC architecture, we deliberately avoided the patents they held when developing the ERM instruction set!" Li Xuan said disapprovingly.

The ERM architecture can be said to have been developed under his golden finger, and he naturally knows the whole situation well. The reason why Li Xuan chose the RISC camp at that time was not the CISC (Complex Instruction Set) camp. The most important consideration is that the RISC architecture is just beginning to evolve, and the big companies have not yet laid a dense minefield. We're all on the same page. However, if it chooses to develop the CISC architecture, it is difficult for Dongfang Electronics to bypass the dense patent barriers set up by IBM, Intel and other companies, and it is easy to cause infringement if you are not careful.

There are generally two purposes for companies to apply for patents, the first is to protect their technology from being misused by others, which is defensive. But there is also an offensive purpose, such as IBM, which invests heavily in R&D every year, and its real room and Bell's real room together are called the two most powerful technology research and development centers in the United States.

IBM technicians file thousands, if not tens of thousands, of new patent applications every year. Most of these patents are not used by IBM itself, but they are often used to sue others for infringement. IBM pays hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties to other companies every year, which is definitely a very profitable business.

"IBM was a little too anxious, and the timing they chose this time was actually not very appropriate! Our ABC-3 and other PCs had just finished the battle, and IBM sued us right after, which easily gave people a bad impression that they couldn't afford to lose!

Moreover, the U.S. Department of Justice has just concluded its antitrust investigation of IBM, and we only need a little guidance to make the media once again set off a debate about whether IBM is suspected of using technology monopoly to suppress competitors!"

"The ABC series of computers is the whole source of profit for Aikang, and a single PC is just an inconspicuous small business for IBM. Naturally, they can't be like us, who think deeply and think about every little detail!

Even if IBM's PC sales can double on the current basis, the annual sales will not exceed 200 million US dollars, accounting for only 1% of IBM's current annual output value of 20 billion yuan.

IBM mainframe sales, on the other hand, are worth millions of dollars in an ordinary order, and a 10% service fee can be charged annually in the future. If they can take over a large order from a government department, it may be as high as hundreds of millions of dollars! Therefore, most people in IBM naturally disdain PCs and will not have much enthusiasm!" Li Xuan hit the nail on the head and pointed out the root cause of the problem.

"Compared with IBM, the blue giant, our Aikang company is still just a toddler! A child who has been bullied by a giant is always the most vulnerable to the public's sympathy and support! The company has a detailed plan for tackling key problems, and is ready to start relevant public opinion guidance in the United States!

And we may not be able to turn a bad thing into a good thing, just relying on this patent case to carry out a new round of hype! Regardless of whether the final judgment of the court will reject all of IBM's claims, as long as the words of Aikang can be put together on an equal footing with IBM and continue to appear in front of the eyes of the American public, we will win!

Even if it ends up paying millions of dollars in royalties, it's worth it, it's much cheaper than advertising on our own, and it's even better!" Han Peng quickly said the detailed plan of Aikang.

When the weak and the strong go to court, the ass of the American media and the public will not hesitate to sit on the side of the weak. That's why you see the news that the old lady fell in KFC and KFC was sentenced to pay tens of millions of dollars in punitive damages.

The courts in the United States have a jury system, and it is up to the jurors to determine whether there is an infringement or not. Only after the jurors have found that the infringement has been established, will the judge award a specific amount of compensation based on the actual circumstances.

For example, patent infringement cases have always been known for being cumbersome, and the delay of the case can be as small as half a year or even several years, and it is impossible for the jury members to be closed to the outside world for such a long time, and they will be more or less affected by external media reports. If Ikang is portrayed as a bullied person, he is likely to win the sympathy of the jurors, who will lead them to make a strong verdict against Icon.

"The most important thing now is to dispel the concerns of American consumers, and the sales of the ABC series must not be affected by this! Their lawyer team is all elites in the industry, and Aikang can also spill a lot of dollars to form a super luxury lineup of lawyer response team!" Li Xuan said with a smile.

Han Peng nodded: "Aikang will hold a press conference this afternoon in the United States time to refute IBM's infringement claims one by one." At the same time, the Board of Directors has urgently resolved to temporarily increase the advertising budget in North America, and will point out a series of new advertisements within two days to eliminate the negative impact of the patent dispute on sales!"

Business competition is by no means a sports competition, and the winner can be decided within a few hours, especially against a strong opponent like IBM, Li Xuan never thought that he could knock out his opponent with a single punch. On the contrary, the opponent is a more powerful heavyweight boxing champion, and if Aikang can't deal with it carefully, it is very likely that he will be knocked out by the opponent with a punch.

The patent stick wielded by IBM this time can be regarded as a wake-up call for Aikang Company and Li Xuan, who are a little fluttering, and let everyone quickly calm down again. Fortunately, Aikang is already a leading company in the personal computer market and has a good position in the industry.

If Aikang is an unknown small company, it may be dragged to death in the face of an attack like IBM. Therefore, business competition has always been cruel and bloody, and if you are not careful, you may be swallowed up by competitors. (To be continued......)

PS: I went back to Jinhua to take the provincial civil service examination, everyone wished me success! So I can only use the manuscript today and tomorrow, and I can guarantee two changes every day!