If it wasn't for Ni Guangnan's reminder, Boss Jia would have forgotten about the VCD player. Every household in Hua Xia had a VCD player from 2000 to 2015. It was the same as a TV and a fridge.
Although the internet and TV boxes became more popular, VCD and DVD players were no longer available in every household. However, they were still household appliances that could be sold for at least one billion dollars!
Yes, I have to do it!
Jia Yapeng started to adjust his original strategy in his mind. However, Jia Yapeng quickly remembered that there were already people in China who were researching VCD players.
Around September 1993, the Wan Yan Group launched the first VCD player in China, which was the Wan Yan brand VCD player. There were only 6 months left until the VCD player was released.
"Academician Ni, can you guarantee that you'll be able to produce the prototype within three months?" Boss Jia asked immediately.
"If it's just a prototype, I can produce it within a month as long as you give me enough money!" Ni Guangnan said casually. "This thing is actually not that complicated. It's just a decoding chip, a disc reader, and an image conversion system. Basically, all of the main parts can be bought from the international market. Therefore, producing a prototype is not difficult. The difficult part is producing it in batches! "
"This means that you have to design a new production line based on this VCD player. That's more troublesome. However, it's not a big problem. I guarantee that I can produce the complete design within three months. After all, we have 700 people working for us now. Before the research equipment is produced, it's a good opportunity for them to have something to do. You don't have to waste your salary!" Ni Guangnan said.
"That's great. I'll immediately ask the base to start building a new factory to prepare for the VCD player development. We'll try to have our VCD player on the market before September!" Jia Yapeng said hurriedly.
"Also, when my prototype and design are out, you can immediately apply for a national patent for this VCD player at the patent office. Don't forget!" Ni Guangnan reminded him.
"Alright!" Jia Yapeng nodded. But he was worried. Since April 1992, Wan Yan had been researching VCD players. She might have already produced a prototype and filed it with the patent office. If he were to apply for a patent now, it would be too late!
Thinking of this, Jia Yapeng immediately ordered his men to investigate the patent application for the VCD player.
However, what surprised Jia Yapeng was that the patent office did not have any patents related to the VCD. There was not even an application for it. It was as if no one had thought of it and it did not even exist.
In fact, Jia Yapeng had investigated all the patents in the world and found out that no one had applied for a VCD player patent. However, the MPEG-1 video format patent had been registered in the world's most powerful countries.
Well, Hua Xia also did not have a patent registration for the MPEG-1 format, which was equivalent to not having a patent.
Boss Jia did not say anything. He immediately pestered Ni Guangnan and asked him to produce a prototype within a day. It was a very simple one. It only showed the working principle of the VCD player. It was impossible to produce a prototype with this sketch, but it was enough to apply for a patent.
So, on the second day, Boss Jia had applied for the VCD player patent and the MPEG-1 video decoding patent. At the same time, Boss Jia also applied for a VCD player patent in the global market. He did not care if he could make money, he just wanted to get the patent first.
What Boss Jia did not know was that in history, Wan Yan, the company that produced the world's first VCD player, forgot to apply for a patent for the VCD player.
It sounded like an unbelievable thing, but it was the truth. Wan Yan had worked so hard to develop the VCD, but she didn't even think about applying for a patent.
As a result, out of the first batch of 1,000 Wan Yan VCD players, not many of them ended up in the hands of consumers. Instead, most of them were bought by major electronic manufacturers such as Aido, Xinke, Xiaxin, Wanlida, Jinzheng, and Shenke.
They disassembled Wan Yan's VCD player and studied it a few times. Then, they successfully mastered the manufacturing technology of the VCD player. Then, more than 20 brands of VCD players appeared in the country. Wan Yan was the first company to invent the VCD player in the world, but it went downhill. It was a sad story.
Later, according to Wan Yan's boss, he did not apply for a patent because he did not know what a patent was. He also did not know what piracy meant. He did not have any intention of applying for a patent.
It might sound like he was an idiot, but you can't blame him. After all, if he was able to come up with a VCD player in the first place, there was no way he had a problem with his IQ.
But at that time, there was too little patent education in Hua Xia. A lot of people in China had never heard of the words patent and piracy. They thought that things could be copied without any legal liability. This was the huge problem brought by the lack of patent education in China.
But luckily, in 1991, after Boss Jia and the Yuzhang State Printing Factory caused a ruckus, China started to pay attention to patent and piracy issues. The situation was much better than before.
The professional equipment was still in the process of being transported, and the equipment and parts needed for the VCD player development could be bought in China or Hong Kong.
So after returning to Yuzhang, Ni Guangnan led the current researchers and started to develop the VCD player. Boss Jia, on the other hand, was having a headache because of money.
Ni Guangnan increased the cost of the joint research center to three hundred million USD, which gave Jia Yapeng a headache.
After returning to Yuzhang, Zhu Qiushui directly threw a financial report in front of Jia Yapeng. Then she told Boss Jia that the company's account had less than one hundred million RMB.
"We made two billion RMB last year, and it's all gone?" Hearing that the company's account had no money, Boss Jia couldn't help but open his eyes wide.
"That's because a certain someone spent a lot of money. First, he gave out a bonus of one hundred million RMB. Then, he spent three hundred million RMB to buy real estate and shopping malls in the Imperial Capital. Then, he spent two hundred million RMB to buy land in Shanghai.
"Now, he has to spend three hundred million RMB to build a joint research center. Moreover, he gave me seven hundred bottomless pits with a monthly salary of six thousand RMB. Should the company leave you more than one billion RMB?" Zhu Qiushui said angrily.
She was indeed feeling a little uncomfortable. Jia Yapeng spent money extravagantly outside. The hard-earned money was thrown away in the blink of an eye. Zhu Qiushui was in a difficult position.
"Don't worry, we can earn back the money!" Jia Yapeng smiled and carefully looked at the financial report. Then, he found something wrong.
"Qiushui, this is the income of January. Where is the income of February? You didn't calculate it! "Boss Jia exclaimed.
"Here you go!" Zhu Qiushui coldly snorted and then gave the income of February to Jia Yapeng. Jia Yapeng looked at it and immediately smiled, "Not bad! You made four hundred million RMB in February! You are really a treasure!"
Boss Jia's smile was not without reason. In the financial report for February, the Daqian's income had reached eight hundred million RMB.
The biggest part was naturally the ace product of Little Brainiac. In the whole of February, Little Brainiac had sold 2.5 million units and sales had reached seven hundred and fifty million RMB.
In addition to the income from crispy noodle snacks and mini 4WD vehicles, the total income for February exceeded eight hundred million RMB. It was the strongest in history.
Of course, the cost of Little Brainiac was not cheap. After deducting these costs, the profit was only about four hundred million RMB.
However, this was enough to relieve the financial pressure of the Daqian. This time, the computer research center and more than seven hundred professional researchers began to devour the Daqian's funds like a gold-swallowing beast.
Four hundred million RMB in profit was not even one hundred million USD. Who knew where Boss Jia would find three hundred million USD for Ni Guangnan to buy equipment.
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