(After writing for a whole morning, I felt something was off. After revising the previous text, it felt right. Let me go through the previous parts first. Haha)
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"So what if a few Chinese people know about it?"
Jam looked utterly desperate, as if he couldn't believe how stupid someone could be.
"There are 500 million Chinese netizens on Haiyin."
"And there are 1.4 billion people in China!"
Alice gasped in horror. "Won't they make a bigger deal out of this than we did?"
"Exactly!"
Their lawsuit was only effective within the United States, but once LC counterattacked, they would target all the major markets around the world.
They were trying to outdo them in terms of momentum!
How daring they were!
On the internet, the Chinese were incredibly efficient at rallying people. In just a couple of minutes, they managed to get the announcement trending on the hot search list and it stayed there.
The most astonishing part was that they didn't just rally the Chinese. There were also many Emmas, Lilys, Graces... who were tagged and when they took a look, they saw: Miss Zhu is publicly filing a global counter - lawsuit?
[They must be in the wrong. I know exactly what kind of country ours is!]
[No doubt about it. Miss Zhu has been framed again. I don't need to say anything about what the United States is like. Everyone knows.]
[What else can we say? Let's just calmly watch and wait for Miss Zhu's brilliant counter - attack.]
"Is this calm? It's obvious they're being biased!" Alice exploded.
Were these still the people of their own country? They were all siding with outsiders!
The company they sent to act as a distraction called and threw in the towel. "Miss Lowell, my company is on the list of those being counter - sued by Zhu Ning! It's a global public notice. She's trying to ruin me! Although we're business partners, I have to be responsible for the current situation. I have a family. I can't ruin my whole life for this. I have to tell the truth now that it was you who told me to do this."
"You dare!"
Alice was furious. "The battle has just begun and you want to jump ship? Let me tell you, it's not that easy! You're afraid of Zhu Ning going after your family, but aren't you afraid of me going after them?"
Jam quickly gave her a silent warning. 'We need to calm him down. We can't just threaten him!'
Sure enough, the person on the other end was also angry. "What do you mean? Are you threatening me?"
Alice glanced at Jam and didn't care. Suddenly, she remembered Zhu Ning's expression that day and said, "Threaten you? Do you deserve it?"
"Alice!"
"Don't shout so loud. I can hear you!" Alice rolled her eyes. "Although our family has been severely hit, it doesn't mean we're finished. As the Chinese saying goes, 'A starved camel is still bigger than a horse.' Take my uncle and the Rockefeller family for example. They're not dead yet. Everyone wants to get rid of Zhu Ning. I'm not the only one who hates her. Our alliance is much stronger than you can imagine."
"So what if Zhu Ning is filing a global counter - lawsuit? This is the United States. As long as it's a battle related to patents, our Lowell family will never lose! You just do your job obediently. If you make it through, you'll be a hero. If you jump ship, I'll send you to God before Zhu Ning even gets to you!"
The person on the other end didn't call to completely break off the relationship. "Words are easy. LC's Zhu Ning even set up a special fund to compensate their customers. If I get nothing..."
"Money is easy. I'll ask Secretary Jam to transfer it to you later. No, I'll transfer it to you regularly. Your current task is to hold your ground. Our battle with Zhu Ning has just begun. No one is allowed to jump ship halfway."
"Okay, okay. I'll follow your arrangements, Miss!"
After hanging up the phone, Alice said, "How about that? If it were Tom, that coward, he'd probably be on his knees begging for mercy by now."
She was the more decisive one.
Jam rolled his eyes and then flattered her. "You're truly amazing, Miss. You managed to calm him down with just a few words. But he just mentioned that Zhu Ning set up a special fund to stabilize her customers..." He reminded her, "Zhu Ning is very rich. And we can't touch her accounts."
This was like building an impenetrable safety zone with money. Inside this zone, any financial attacks would be ineffective!
"If we just stay at this stage, we'll have to pay a high price. So, what do you think..."
"You're right." Alice narrowed her eyes. "So, what do you suggest..."
Jam guided her, "Don't they want to defend the legitimacy of their patents?"
"What if we just take away their right to do so?"
"You mean..."
"Exactly! Section 337 Investigation!"
At the LC Building, the receptionists were on duty. Suddenly, several Chevrolets pulled up in front of the building and blocked the entrance. A receptionist immediately stepped forward. "Hello, may I ask..."
Before she could finish her question, the people on the other side showed their IDs. "USITC."
"We're here to conduct an investigation on you."
The receptionist's face turned pale.
"Section 337 Investigation?"
"Yes!" Tang Hanxiao's face darkened. "This is the most feared regulatory investigation for companies with patent and intellectual property rights."
The full name of the Section 337 Investigation is Section 337 of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930.
It's a legal provision designed to protect U.S. industries from unfair competition in import trade, especially intellectual property infringement.
Don't assume that just because of the words "import trade" it only targets foreign companies.
The tricky part is that if you're a U.S. company but your products are manufactured in factories in other countries and then sold back to the U.S., you meet the "import" condition of this act. If other companies find that your products infringe on their patents, they can flexibly initiate this act to file a case against you!
Due to the national conditions and labor environment in the U.S., medium - and large - scale factories can't be located in the country and have to move abroad. That's why this provision is so overbearing: it can regulate imported goods from other countries as well as the "imported" goods that originally belonged to U.S. companies!
The same group of people make the rules and break them!
Tang Hanxiao said, "The scary thing about the Section 337 regulation is that a normal lawsuit only targets a certain company and asks for compensation. But the Section 337 regulation is different. It directly bans your entire product from being sold!"
It's the most overbearing intellectual property regulation in the world - the plaintiff doesn't even need to prove that they've suffered damage when using this regulation to attack a competitor! And the cost for the defendant to respond is extremely high, often reaching tens of millions of dollars!
What if the plaintiff is making a false accusation?
Based on the scope of protection of this regulation itself, it's a presumption of guilt.
If the plaintiff says you're guilty, well, we'll assume you're guilty first. With a stamp and a seal, they'll announce: you're dirty and you're in trouble.
If you don't respond, you'll be considered to have lost the case.
After losing the case, all similar products will be permanently banned from import.
Even if the products aren't from your company but from other companies in other countries, they'll also lose their import qualifications permanently!
Do you want to rebrand and try again?
They won't give you that chance.
Because the Section 337 Act targets your technology itself from the very beginning, not the legal entity of the company.
Their goal is to eliminate all potential competitors at the source!
Tang Hanxiao said, "Its overbearing nature lies in completely cutting off the future."