When he arrived in the United States, Chen Chong realized how famous he was.

"Venice merchant from the East!"

"The stepping stone to the free spread of knowledge!"

"Algorithms and software thinking can actually apply for patents. Is the Chinese brain burned out?"

...

In 1979, the software industry in the United States was still in a wild state. Free sharing and free-transmission thoughts dominated, and privately did not even pay much attention to copyright. Bill Gates once published an open letter condemning the piracy of BASIC, which ended up being a mess...

Therefore, the rebound caused by the action of applying for software patents can be imagined.

In early August, when Bricklin was attending an event at a computer enthusiast club in Boston, he said that he had missed the news that VisiCalc was applying for a patent by a reporter from Computer World. Major computer media in the United States were in an uproar, and various publications and people of all kinds posted articles or wrote open letters, criticizing Shen Chong's behavior.

As more and more reports have been reported, VisiCalc's amazing office efficiency and huge market prospects have been exposed one by one. Although this is considered free advertising, it has boosted a lot of sales, but it has also made more Americans realize its value. As a result, the situation has become more and more intense, and media in the non-computer industry have also begun to report.

In September, even the famous news magazine "Time" came to join in the fun and made a special topic, interviewing six leading figures in the computer industry. During the interview, these people all expressed their opinions that software belongs to natural science, just like mathematical principles, is a common knowledge wealth of mankind, and should be spread freely, and does not have the basic factors for applying for patents at all...

"I really want to plant flowers but don't grow, but I don't want to plant willows and willows to form shade."

Shen Chong sat on the comfortable sofa in Orwitz's office, smiling bitterly while looking through the articles in Time magazine.

In order to apply for VisiCalc's patent, attorney fees, expert witness fees, public relations lobbying fees, etc., it cost more than one million dollars, but it didn't get anything, only gaining a bad reputation that everyone shouted.

A few months ago, Chen Chong tried his best to become famous, but he couldn't become famous. Now when he wanted to keep a low profile, his fame came uninvited. Judging from the seven or eight publications in front of him, in the past month, he has been in Hong Kong and has become the limelight in the United States, and has even surpassed the leader of the No. 1 young idol in Silicon Valley...

"Allen, don't worry." Orwitz sat in a wide office chair, holding a wine glass, comforted him: "The American judiciary is very independent, and public opinion will not affect the judgment."

Chen Chong smiled when he heard this.

Time magazine has a huge influence. The six experts interviewed are all Taishan Beidou in the computer industry. Two of them have won the Turing Award, while the other four will also win the Turing Award in the future. The experts and witnesses Chen Chong spent money to hire are not enough to see in front of them, whether they have professional abilities or industry influence.

With the identity of a foreigner, the patent can basically be sentenced to death...

But this is good. Selling it to Apple will make a big profit and you will lose all your money.

As for why Apple wants to acquire VisiCalc, Chen Chong also saw some clues from these publications.

First, Apple launched a new Apple II in June. Sales staff found that the sales volume of stores sold with VisiCalc was twice as high as that of stores selling Apple separately.

Second, in a group of people shouting and beating, Gang Qiao was the only one who stated that the software should have patent protection... He deserved to be the king of the patent war later.

Third, Bricklin announced in early September that it began to develop supporting VisiCalc for personal computers produced by other computer companies.

With all these characteristics, it is not surprising that you want to acquire VisiCalc and eat alone.

"Michael, you said there are many media to interview me." Shen Chong raised the magazine in his hand and said, "Is it Time?"

"It's similar to Time." Orwitz took a sip of wine and smiled and reported a series of names: "Fortune, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, NBC, CBS and ABC, they all want to interview, Allen, you are now the hottest public figure in the United States."

Chen Chong laughed, threw the magazine on the sofa, and said, "I never thought of becoming the focus of everyone's attention. So many media want to interview, what suggestions do you have?"

"Allen, you're not a star, you don't need to rely on a lot of exposure to attract audiences." Orwitz said carefully: "You need to maintain a certain sense of mystery, so I suggest choosing an authoritative paper media, then choosing a suitable TV program, and pushing down the rest."

When Chen Chong heard this, he touched his chin, a little confused.

These media, whether they are print media or TV, are all communication tools with huge influence. If they accept exclusive interviews, their words and deeds will be magnified thousands of times, which is very likely to change the future of some people and thus the future of the world.

When the future changes, the advantage of foresight is gone.

But when I thought about it, Chen Chong laughed silently again.

Even if Larry Page doesn't learn software but goes to learn physics after reading his interview, search engines will still exist...

Even if Zuckerberg's father or mother did not go on a date to watch his interview, thus missing a genius in the world, social networks will definitely appear...

For example, now, VisiCalc is causing trouble, and all the great masters have jumped out to oppose it. Software patents seem to be still in the womb. If there is no software patent, the future of the computer industry will definitely be completely different.

However, Chen Chong was not worried at all, because for more than a month, AT&T remained silent, IBM said nothing, and Bill Gates called Chen Chong three times in a row to show support...

No matter how good the spirit of free sharing is, it cannot withstand the charm of money.

One hundred great gods can't beat a multinational company.

Software patents will definitely appear, but the US government does not want Shen Chong, an outsider to eat his first bite of fat.

As long as we grasp the main context of world development and the essence of industry, the future will still be well documented.

If you tie your hands and feet up, it will be more than worth the loss.

Besides, don’t the time travelers exist to change the world...

After weighing the pros and cons, Shen Chong stood up and said to Orwitz: "I'll borrow the phone."

"Please."

The person who made the call was Pu Weishi, who was fully responsible for negotiations with Apple. Since he decided to accept an exclusive interview to gain fame, it would be better to maximize his use. He needs to consult and what to say during the interview to add weight to the negotiation.

After consultation, Chen Chong put down the phone and saw Orwitz looking at him with anticipation. He couldn't help but smile, knowing what he wanted...

In negotiations with Apple, the general manager of HSBC's international department was personally responsible for it. Shen Chong did not need to appear. He just had to make a decision on the final result, so it didn't matter whether he came to the United States or not.

However, he still came to the United States for big purchases. He had always thought he had no money, so he dared not make big moves. Now HSBC has issued him a credit limit of $100 million. If you don’t spend it at this time, when will you wait?

Chen Chong came to CAA's agency to prepare for the next movie, but as soon as he met, before he could speak, Orwitz enthusiastically showed him a bunch of magazines, and then said that many media wanted to interview him, and the purpose was self-evident, so he naturally wanted to use his east wind to make CAA show off.

CAA is quite critical to Shen Chong's future plan, and it is not a must to help him. Thinking of this, he did not whet Orwitz's appetite and said simply: "Michael, I have no experience in dealing with the media. Can you help me?"

"No problem." Orwitz's joy was beyond words. CAA was still a small company at this time. It was a great thing to be desired to deal with authoritative media such as Fortune. He repeatedly promised: "Allen, please rest assured that our CAA will do our best to do our exclusive interview."

"Thank you," Chen Chong said lightly: "If this interview goes well, I will leave all media-related business in the United States in the future to CAA."

"Allen, are you going to sign a long-term contract with us?" Orwitz's voice trembled. Although Chen Chong is not a Hollywood star, a millionaire on the storm is more useful than ten movie stars, especially this is still a young and generous Monopoly.

Except for VisiCalc, other industries under Shen Chong were not exposed. If Orwitz knew that his net worth was over 100 million, he would probably be so excited that he would jump off the building...

Chen Chong picked up the coffee placed on the table and said, "Michael, we are friends, I'm very relieved to leave it to you."

Orwitz danced a few steps, laughing excitedly, then he slapped his forehead and said, "I'll start to arrange it now..."

"Don't hurry." Chen Chong stopped him from making the phone call and said, "I'm here this time, I want to ask you for help."

Orwitz put down the phone, picked up the paper and pen, sat upright, with a serious face and said, "Alan, what's the matter?"

"I've always been very interested in movies." Chen Chong took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to him, saying, "I want to make a movie in Hong Kong, but the film industry has a poor foundation there, so I want to hire some people from Hollywood."

Orwitz opened the file and whispered, "Blasting, props, lights, photography..."

After a quick glance, he raised his head and said in surprise: "Allen, are you going to have a complete film crew?"

"It's not all." Chen Chong said with a smile: "I don't need it either."

Orwitz took the document and searched it again. After a while, he said, "According to the requirements of this document, I estimate that at least 60 people are needed. Alan, are you sure? It will cost a lot of money to let so many people go to Hong Kong."

Chen Chong laughed, pointed to the messy magazines on the sofa, and said, "You know, I've made a little money recently."

Orwitz laughed, he was in a very good mood.

This Allen is an angel!

Hollywood has been in a recession in recent years, and several major film companies have laid off employees. With this commission, it is almost impossible to make any talk and sign high-level film workers who were disdainful of CAA. In this way, the company will become Hollywood's largest agency company, just around the corner...
Chapter completed!