Chapter 266 It's difficult... but we have to do it!

"I'm sorry, Director Zhou, I don't know if I've bothered you?" Ye Wenxi asked tentatively.

"No, I'm not very busy right now. Just tell me what's up." Zhou Xuchen pushed the report aside and sat up straight.

Although Lu Weidong had already given a general explanation of the situation, Ye Wenxi still recounted the entire story to him from beginning to end.

"That's roughly it," Ye Wenxi sighed.

Unfortunately, there are currently no clear laws and regulations in China regarding intellectual property rights.

"I find it difficult to come up with a suitable solution."

Zhou Xuchen nodded slowly: "That's right, legislation takes time, but I believe the country will catch up in this regard soon."

"However, Comrade Ye, you need to find a starting point for the problem you are facing as soon as possible."

"Yes, that's why I'm contacting you to see if you have any practical experience in this area."

Zhou Xuchen smiled and said frankly that he had indeed explored some ways to protect the results of scientific research projects.

But that was within the context of a national project.

In addition to domestic researchers, his laboratory occasionally hosts collaborations with foreign experts.

This requires prior agreement on who gets the results and how the benefits will be divided, clearly written down in black and white.

"However," he paused, "my situation is different from yours. I have the support of national projects, so even if there is no legal basis, there is still room for negotiation."

After listening, Ye Wenxi remained silent for two seconds, then stated the crux of the problem:

"So what I lack is a force that can help me maintain order in the situation."

"Yes." Zhou Xuchen nodded, and continued:

"Processes, records, and documents—these things that prove ownership of knowledge—are not difficult to do."

"The difficulty lies in who will stand up for you when someone crosses the line."

After listening, Ye Wenxi fell into deep thought.

It is a joint venture between military and civilian enterprises, and it also has in-depth cooperation with the Light Industry Bureau.

Both of these are organizations that can be leveraged.

but.....

Things aren't that simple.

Although the military has power, it has no authority over or control over industrial production. The support of the military region is a symbol of prestige and trust, but the military region cannot interfere in local economic disputes.

Although the Light Industry Bureau is the competent authority, what they want to see most is the prosperity of the entire industry, not the single company's outstanding performance.

Perhaps from the perspective of the Light Industry Bureau, Ye Wenxi is in a benchmark position, and his role is to drive the development of the industry, not to block others from moving forward.

Out of consideration for Ye Wenxi's personal relationship and cooperation, the Light Industry Bureau might give him some face and say a word in his defense when things get minor.

However, when it comes to large-scale interests, when the large-scale development of the entire industry is put together with the protection of Ye Wenxi's personal value, it becomes a matter of choice.

She didn't think the Light Industry Bureau would side with her.

Putting aside other things.

If state-owned textile and garment factories in Harbin start to learn her design concepts, pattern-making techniques, and processes in large quantities, the Light Industry Bureau will not stop the development of the entire industry for the sake of one person.

This is her dilemma.

It seems like you have two powerful backers, but in this matter, neither of them is really reliable.

Zhou Xuchen sensed Ye Wenxi's current predicament and earnestly added:

"Comrade Ye, in this matter, you probably need to clearly define the boundaries of your rights and set red lines."

"Also, I suggest you get this vaccination as soon as possible."

Ye Wenxi understood the meaning behind Zhou Xuchen's words.

It is impossible to completely eliminate plagiarism and imitation.

The "precautionary measure" Zhou Xuchen referred to is that she needs to express her attitude and stance as soon as possible.

In modern times, this is called protecting rights or fighting plagiarism.

In this day and age, neither individuals nor public entities have this concept.

In the worst-case scenario, it could even lead to situations like "learning from Wenxi Garment Company's experience," where people openly plagiarize under the guise of "learning activities."

Ye Wenxi sighed softly.

This is difficult.

But it still has to be done.

Her gaze gradually sharpened and hardened, and she found her direction.

"Director Zhou, what win-win mechanisms does your organization adopt when cooperating with external parties?" Ye Wenxi asked tentatively.

Zhou Xuchen smiled slightly.

He laughed at Ye Wenxi for being too clever, getting to the heart of the matter so quickly.

In this situation, she alone is absolutely not enough to stop everyone from following suit.

Only by winning over some people and turning them into "our own people" can we prevent others from being too reckless.

Therefore, Ye Wenxi needs to devise a countermeasure.

We also need to consider win-win cooperation with various units.

Zhou Xuchen didn't beat around the bush, and the two directly exchanged concrete and feasible ideas.

……

Before they knew it, the two had been chatting for almost an hour.

"Yes, I think so too."

"The focus of the rights protection efforts is on core products and signature items, such as the latest seasonal products and exclusive craftsmanship."

"As for the older models from last season, we could consider releasing them appropriately and collaborating with some state-owned factories in exchange."

As Ye Wenxi spoke, he glanced at his watch.

"Oh dear, it's already this late! Director Zhou, I'm sorry, I have to go now. I have to go to the Provincial Academy of Fine Arts this afternoon to give a presentation to the students, so I need to prepare a bit more."

"Okay, go ahead and get busy. I'll be spending most of my time in the office these days, feel free to contact me anytime."

"Thank you so much! I'll definitely treat you to a meal when I get back!"

Ye Wenxi packed her things and took out the prepared sharing notes.

The last exchange at the Provincial Academy of Fine Arts mainly involved sharing and conversations with professional teachers and academic backbone members. Everyone was very interested in Ye Wenxi's avant-garde design thinking and its commercialization.

Therefore, the school expanded the scale of this sharing session and arranged it in the largest lecture hall.

It can accommodate 300 people and even has a special "slide projector" to make glass slides of Yeh Wen-hsi's previous design works so that she can project and explain them.

Since returning from Yunnan, Ye Wenxi hasn't had a proper rest, staying up until the wee hours of the morning every day before getting up early.

Ye Wenxi put a lot of effort into preparing for this presentation.

I spend a lot of time figuring out the logic and flaws in sharing.

It's not a matter of knowledge.

The real question is how to make one's statement sound reasonable without giving oneself away.

After all, they are dealing with students and teachers from professional institutions, so those advanced ideas need to be packaged in a way that people in this era can understand.

She had to come up with a reasonable excuse for how she knew all this, and even though she wasn't good at making excuses, she had already thought of how to change the subject.

"Aha—" Ye Wenxi yawned, opened the closet door, and changed into a suit.

She was wearing a black and white business suit today.

She wore a white turtleneck sweater underneath, and a white, gentlemanly vest over it, made of crisp suit fabric with a straight V-neck and a cinched waist. Only the edges of the placket and collar were trimmed with topstitching of the same color.

The entire outfit is devoid of any lace or bow embellishments, except for a pearl clip at the V-neck, subtly blending a touch of feminine elegance into its otherwise heroic style.

The lower body is made of the same high-waisted straight-leg trousers, with the creases ironed neatly. The drape follows the shape of the legs, fitting snugly but not tight, making every step feel like a breeze, making the whole person look tall and dashing.

For today's important sharing session, Ye Wenxi specially asked Sun Xiaolan to arrange for the delivery of the new spring styles.

Besides academic exchange, Ye Wenxi had another purpose for this sharing session.

She needs to find a design assistant.