In the blink of an eye, Christmas was almost here. Christmas songs were playing through the streets, and the holiday vibes were in full swing. Olivia had bought some decorations online and put them up at the office, adding a little Christmas cheer to the workplace.
One morning, Grace Li called Olivia and Ryan into the conference room for a quick progress meeting.
After Grace Li's investment in the Hengyue Technology project, she also had two other projects—one for a traditional pastry chain and one for an ancient-style clothing brand, both in the consumer market, areas where they had expertise.
Grace Li's main focus lately was still Hengyue Technology. She felt like she was almost running the show there. For the other two projects, she had handed over more decision-making power to Ryan and Olivia. She had trained them both and trusted their abilities, so she felt comfortable delegating the responsibility.
After the meeting, Grace Li got a call from Tom Wilson. As she listened, her face changed. "I'll be right over," she said.
After hanging up, Ryan noticed her change in expression. "Boss, what's going on?"
Grace Li replied, "Sunny Medical stole Hengyue's smart wheelchair design."
Ryan and Olivia were shocked. Hengyue Technology's smart wheelchair was set to launch in January, and now, just before the event, the design had been stolen.
"What should we do?" Olivia asked.
Grace Li grabbed her handbag. "I'll go check things out first."
Grace Li rushed to Hengyue Technology. The issue had been discovered by one of Hengyue's R&D technicians, who had seen concept images of the smart wheelchair on Sunny Medical's website and e-commerce platforms. They claimed it would be launched on Christmas Day, available in both stores and online.
The appearance and specs of Sunny Medical's wheelchair were identical to Hengyue's, except for the color of a few components. Tom Wilson had filed for a patent for this wheelchair six months ago, so this was clearly an infringement.
Grace Li asked, "How many people have seen the full design of the wheelchair?"
Tom Wilson replied, "Only Gao and I have the complete set of drawings. The others only know about individual components."
"What about the drawings we gave to the suppliers?"
"Different suppliers make different parts, so we only gave them the drawings for the parts they were responsible for."
Grace Li thought for a moment. "Sunny Medical couldn't have accidentally made an identical product. It's likely that our designs were leaked."
Tom Wilson added, "I've patented the wheelchair's overall structure and some components I invented. They're clearly infringing, and we should be able to take legal action."
Grace Li nodded. "Hmm."
Tom Wilson seemed to remember something. "Oh, there's one more thing."
"What is it?"
Tom Wilson adjusted his metal-framed glasses. "Two months ago, Sunny Medical offered to buy the patent for this wheelchair from Jack Brown for $800,000, but I turned them down. We even argued about it."
Grace Li asked, "Does Jack Brown have the full set of drawings?"
"Yes. A lot of our suppliers have been contacted by him."
Grace Li had an idea. Since Sunny Medical had been in contact with Jack Brown, it seemed like they had gotten the designs through him. But Sunny Medical was a well-known medical device company in the U.S. If Jack Brown had sold them the designs without the proper transfer or authorization, why would they risk the legal trouble of infringement?
Do you think Jack Brown tried to cover it up?
Jack Brown had already left the company, and everything was still just speculation. Confronting Sunny Medical directly now could backfire. Since this involved legal matters, the best move was to consult a lawyer.
Grace Li said, "Let's contact a lawyer first and figure out what we should do."
"Okay."
Grace Li immediately called Isabella and asked if there was a lawyer at her firm who specialized in intellectual property. Isabella quickly recommended someone. His name was Zachary Lawson.
The lawyer messaged back almost immediately.
Zachary Lawson: Hello, Ms. Li. I'm Zachary Lawson, a senior partner at Venus Law Firm.
Grace Li was a bit taken aback. She had just asked Isabella for a lawyer familiar with intellectual property laws, but Isabella had recommended the senior partner?
Grace Li: Hello, Attorney Lawson.
Zachary Lawson: Are you available for a call?
Grace Li: Yes. If it's convenient, please send me your phone number and I'll call you.
Zachary Lawson sent over a number, and Grace Li dialed it. He answered right away.
"Ms. Li, hello." A deep, smooth male voice came through the receiver.
Though it wasn't the right time to think about it, Grace Li couldn't help but feel the voice was magnetic.
"Hello, Attorney Lawson."
"Isabella briefly told me about the case, but I need more details. I'll ask you a few questions."
Grace Li responded, "Sure, go ahead."
Zachary Lawson asked several questions, and Grace Li answered them. Soon, he gave a preliminary solution. "Ms. Li, since you don't have enough evidence right now, we can't confirm that the other party has committed an infringement. My suggestion is to thoroughly investigate the situation first. Then, based on what we find, we can either seek an administrative ruling from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or pursue legal action through litigation."
Grace Li nodded. "Okay."
"If it's convenient for you, Ms. Li, we could meet face-to-face."
"Sure. When are you available, Attorney Lawson? We can come to your law firm."
"I have court in the morning but will be free after 1:30 pm."
"Great. We'll see you at 1:30."
After hanging up, Grace Li told Tom Wilson, "I've set up a meeting with Attorney Lawson for this afternoon. Let's go together, and bring all the patent certificates and documents."
"Okay." Tom Wilson felt guilty. His first instinct had been to call Grace Li as soon as this happened. He depended on her too much. "Grace, I'm really sorry. I keep relying on you to solve everything."
Grace Li wasn't fazed. "You're still figuring things out. Once you've got the hang of it, I won't need to step in so much."
"Hmm."
"By the way, have you talked to Jack Brown recently?"
Tom Wilson shook his head. "We haven't spoken since he left the company."
"Alright, here's what we'll do. Call him or send a message, pretend to ask about how he's been or check in on the clients."
"Okay, I'll give it a shot." Tom Wilson pulled out his phone and called Jack Brown, but it went straight to voicemail. He then tried WhatsApp, but got a message saying that Jack Brown had blocked him.
"He blocked me, and his phone's off."
Grace Li frowned. "Any other way to reach him?"
"I'll ask my cousin." Tom Wilson called his cousin, who gave him Jack Brown's parents' contact info. He called them to ask where Jack Brown was. They said he had gone to Vietnam recently, supposedly to start a factory with a partner, and they hadn't heard from him in a while.
Clearly, Jack Brown had bailed, knowing this would come out sooner or later.
But they still didn't know exactly how he had handed over the patent to Sunny Medical.
Grace Li and Tom Wilson arrived at Venus Law Firm right on time at 1:30 pm. Isabella greeted them in person.
"Grace, Zachary Lawson's on his way back now. You can wait in the reception area for a bit."
"Okay."
Isabella looked at the man next to Grace Li. He wore gold-rimmed glasses and looked friendly, even a little shy. This had to be the CEO of the smart wheelchair company Grace Li had mentioned.
"This must be Mr. Wilson, right?"
Tom Wilson nodded politely. "Hello, I'm Tom Wilson."
"Hi, I'm Isabella, a lawyer here at the firm and also Grace's friend."
"Nice to meet you."
"Come on, follow me to the reception area." Isabella led them there.
Grace Li whispered, "Our case isn't that big. Will your senior partner really take it?"
"He volunteered."
"Really?"
"Yep. When you called me today, he was right next to me. I asked him about it, and he said he wanted to know more, so I passed your info to him."
Grace Li caught something in Isabella's voice. It didn't sound like the usual boss-employee dynamic. There was even a little extra something when she mentioned this guy. Grace Li leaned closer, "Is this the guy you've been talking about?"
Isabella coughed softly, glanced around to make sure no one was listening, and then whispered, "You got it."
No wonder.