Watsington is the capital of the United States, the political center of the United States, Lei Weidong and his entourage set off from the Cayman Islands, and went straight to Watsonton, of course, Lei Weidong's goal is not this American political center, Lei Weidong's purpose is to go to the United States Patent Office in the Carlisle area of Alexandria, Virginia to apply for several patents.

Alexandria is located in the south of Watsangton, close to Watsangton, in the United States because of the different national conditions, the government agencies of the United States are different from China, although most of them are in Watsangton, but they are very scattered, and there are all around Watsangton.

For example, the headquarters of the Patent and Trademark Office, which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce, is not in Watsington, but has been moved to Alexandria, Virginia, which is of course not far from Watsington, and it is an hour away by car.

Speaking of patents, the first thing we think is that VCD, which can be said to be an eternal pain in the hearts of all Chinese people, because of the lack of attention to patents, Wanyan did not apply for relevant patents internationally when he launched VCD in 92.

As a result, after Wanyan launched the first batch of VCD machines, large international enterprises such as Sony and Panasonic carried out reverse design and launched their own products after buying prototypes. At the same time, it preempts patents, and makes VCD, a device developed by the Chinese, pay patent fees to others if it is exported. It can be seen that the importance of applying for a patent first also made the Chinese pay a tuition fee.

It should also be said that many people may think that patents are very mysterious and specialized, and that you have to be professionals to apply for patents.

But in fact, patents are simple, according to the international patent law, usually patents can be divided into three categories: invention patents, design patents and plant patents.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues the following three types of patent certificates:

1. Utility patent: A combination of methods, machines, products or things, or new and useful improvements, may be patented in accordance with the provisions and conditions stipulated in this Law.

2. Patent for Design: Any person who creates a novel, original and decorative product design may obtain a patent in accordance with the provisions and requirements of this Law.

3. Patentforplant: Any person who invents, discovers and vegetatively propagates any special and new plant variety, including variations, varieties, mixtures and newly discovered plant seedlings cultivated by cultivation, may obtain a patent in accordance with the provisions of this Law, except for plants propagated by tubers or plants found in a non-cultivated state.

It is conceivable that Lei Weidong can't even think about invention patents at present, after all, Lei Weidong was just an ordinary college student in his previous life, and he had no talent for invention at all.

For example, invention patents are estimated to be obtained by those geniuses or big companies, just like Qiao's gang has a lot of patents. And Lei Weidong is reborn, and it is impossible for him to have any talent in invention. Finally, it is to give some guidance and let others invent and create, but this is all for the future, so let's not consider it now.

However, although invention patents cannot be considered, the reborn has a great advantage, and in some aspects the forward-looking is invincible.

Just like Lei Weidong, there are a lot of drawings in the suitcase this time, all of which are patents for Transformers and cabbage dolls, and of course they are all appearance patents.

In terms of appearance, the era is different, the vision is different, if nothing else, let's talk about the Apple smartphones and tablets that are popular in later generations.

Not to mention that in the 70s, that is, in 2000, can the designers of Joe's gang now simulate all the appearance and internal configuration of the tablet in their minds?

Can the Korean guys at Samsung now draw the phones that sell more than Apple in Europe and the United States, and can they name some simple and unique features?

Obviously impossible!

The burst of design inspiration can only be inspired at a certain time.

If there was no Qiao's iphone, then no one would have thought that smartphones could do that, and the research engineers of various companies would not have focused all their energy on the study of mobile phone intelligence, nor would they have many classic models - without iPhone, Nokia and Motorola would still be classics!

But they can't, but Lei Weidong can!

Because of these electronic products, the market was already flooded before Lei Weidong's rebirth, and smartphones and small tablets of several hundred yuan came out.

In his previous life, Lei Weidong couldn't afford to play Apple's iPhone7, iPhoneX and other high-end models, but vivo, oppo's smartphones have been used several times, and for these smartphones, Lei Weidong can draw the appearance with his eyes closed.

Therefore, the second type of patent, the design patent, seems to be prepared for Lei Weidong by nature, allowing him to pick up a way to make a fortune among the many technical patents.

However, when it comes to appearance patents, we have to talk about one thing, that is, the damn patent time limit, if it weren't for Lei Weidong's special understanding of patent law before coming to the United States, it would have been a joke.

In the U.S. patent law, patents like invention patents and plant patents are better, and the term of protection is 20 years, both from the filing date.

After the invention patent is granted, the time limit for paying the maintenance fee is as follows: the third and a half years, the seventh and a half years and the 11 and a half years from the date of grant, the annual fee or maintenance fee must be paid, otherwise the patent right will become invalid. Once a plant patent is granted, there is no maintenance fee or annual fee.

On the other hand, the term of protection of a design patent is only 14 years, and it is counted from the date of grant, and there is no need to pay maintenance or annual fees after grant.

In other words, the appearance patents applied for by Lei Weidong are only valid for 14 years, and if Lei Weidong applies for a design patent like a smartphone now, it will be invalid before 1992.

And Lei Weidong is no matter how talented he is, even if he pulls Gang Leader Qiao and Uncle Bill under his hands, it is impossible to make smartphones and tablets in 1992, the level of technology is there, not that you can surpass it if you want to.

There is no way, Lei Weidong's mood is like finding a mountain of gold, but his pocket is so big, he can only resist a part. The rest will have to be deducted little by little over the next 20 years or so.

In the Carlisle area of Alexandria, stop at the entrance of the headquarters of the office building of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

As a country that values intellectual property, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been around since the time of Edison. In the beginning, it was already very busy.

It's already around 3 p.m. on Friday, and it's close to the weekend holiday. It's still full of people and cars.

In front of the headquarters building of the Patent and Trademark Office, the total construction area of several office buildings has reached more than 100,000 square feet, and the total area of a parking lot has reached hundreds of thousands of square feet, which is really extravagant!

As for the two-row townhouses and all kinds of related facilities, etc., it is even more set off the size and busyness of this institution - the only institution that can pay for all the expenses by itself and use the surplus to build such a large complex is probably the only one besides the tax office and customs. In the U.S. Patent Office, it is also a very oily yamen.

Lei Weidong did not know anything about the set of American civil services in his previous life or now, but fortunately, Chen Dazhuang was very familiar with him, walked into a spacious and bright building, and instructed Lei Weidong to receive the number plate in the hall on the first floor, and then came to the hall on the third floor according to the instructions, and waited for about 40 minutes before finally calling his number.

At his service was a blonde Caucasian woman who looked beautiful from a distance, but when she got closer, she had a lot of freckles on her face.

A beautiful woman in her twenties with a number plate that reads "Mary" on her chest.