The rise of nanometers

Faced with such charging standards, Cook almost slapped the table. He suppressed his anger and said, "Excuse me, why is the patent licensing fee for a complete machine assembled abroad so much higher?"

The three patent examiners on the opposite side made eye contact with each other. One of them, a young man with a big back, smiled and asked:

"Mr. Cook, why is the price of iPhone 4 in the United States 499 yuan, but in China it is 4999 yuan?"

"Um..." Cook responded quickly: "This is of course due to the impact of import tariffs and exchange rate issues."

"Then my explanation is also about tariffs and exchange rates. Do you still have questions?" the young man replied with a smile.

Damn it! Cook was immediately speechless. The price of Apple 4 is indeed a problem. According to the previous exchange rate and tariff, the import price of Apple 4 is up to 4,000 Chinese yuan.

Not to mention the current exchange rate of around 5.83, the price of an iPhone 4 should be around 3,500 Chinese yuan.

But Apple, which has a tough mouth, still insists on the price of 4,000 Chinese yuan, even if it is so called a price cut, and refuses to reduce the price below 4,000 yuan.

Cook still did not agree. Whether it was 75.6 yuan for domestic OEM or 185 yuan for overseas OEM, he found it difficult to accept: "But such a charge is unreasonable and does not conform to the international patent charging practice."

Another middle-aged man wearing glasses raised his glasses and said with a smile: "President Cook, you Apple can completely use our 4G patents and continue to use 3G communications."

Cook almost couldn't hold it back. 4G communication is being promoted rapidly. Once 4G communication is missed, will Apple have to wait for 5G?

Without obtaining the 4G patent package from the Patent Committee, Apple will face a series of problems on 4G mobile phones. The patent litigation alone is enough for them to drink.

"but……"

The middle-aged man wearing glasses waved his hand: "President Cook, if you come up with Apple's patents, you can offset part of it."

After some calculations, even if Apple takes out all the 3G/4G patents, it will only offset part of the charges. The final charging standard is: 54.8 Chinese yuan per unit for the domestic version and 142.5 Chinese yuan per unit for the overseas version.

Seeing this price, Cook and many Apple executives said it was difficult to accept it.

However, the three patent reviewers on the Patent Committee were indifferent and had an expression of buying if they wanted to, and getting out if they didn’t.

After discussing for a long time, both parties broke up unhappy.

Cook, who settled at the Peninsula Hotel in Paris, held a video conference with Li Zhongding and others from the Chinese branch, and then reported the matter to Apple's board of directors in North America.

Obviously, the high patent licensing fees and the differentiated charges at home and abroad have made Apple’s board of directors very angry and helpless.

If Apple does not accept the patent package plan of the Patent Committee, it will not be able to use 4G communication technology. Now 3G mobile phones are almost beaten by the dragon totem. If there is not even 4G, Apple probably does not need to fight and will simply surrender. never mind.

In the evening in Shanmei, under the diffuse glow of the rays, the road next to the Paris Peninsula Hotel is filled with busy traffic and student workers after school.

Cook stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in distress, with a trace of bitterness in his heart.

Once upon a time, Apple was beating Nokia, kicking Sony Ericsson, and overwhelming Samsung all over the world. For a time, its glory was unlimited.

However, before they could wait for a year to be proud, first the Dragon Totem was born, then the founder Steve Jobs passed away, the Lilong 4 memory was launched, and 4G communication was a foregone conclusion.

In the face of 4G communications, the dominant Suiren system has become an obstacle that Apple cannot avoid.

the next day.

Li Zhongding and others, who hurriedly came from Shanghai, arrived at the Peninsula Hotel in Paris and met with Cook and others.

In the hotel's business room.

Li Zhongding has already learned about the patent licensing fees through email. Although overall, the patent committee's fees are on the high side, but compared to the 3.5 to 5% charged by patent troll Qualcomm, they are actually very generous.

According to the price offered by Qualcomm to Apple, each iPhone 4 phone costs 21 million yuan, which adds up to more than 100 yuan.

If Apple chooses to OEM the entire machine in China, the charging standard of 54.8 Chinese yuan per unit is actually acceptable.

The current problem is that Apple wants to support Samba’s foundries, which causes them to face patent fees for overseas versions.

"Mr. President, in order to ensure the cost, we should accept this plan!" Li Zhongding persuaded.

Cook was very depressed: "These hateful guys, why do they let them master the core technology of 4G? Even if it is Huawei, I don't hate it that much."

In response to Cook's angry words, Li Zhongding suffered selective amnesia.

The Suiren system is powerful in all aspects. There are basically no obvious blind spots. Every business of Apple competes with the Suiren system, and they are always the ones being crushed.

In this situation, Li Zhongding also felt powerless.

It is basically impossible for the locked industrial chain to escape from this invisible network at this stage. Even if a group of large consortiums want to forcefully decouple, they must consider whether their own economies will completely collapse as a result.

After working in the Magic City for more than ten years, Li Zhongding has witnessed the vicissitudes of change and has a better understanding of the power of the Suiren system.

This is the first time their Apple phones have faced this kind of thing, and many other industries have actually been dealt with by the Suiren system.

For example, major car companies have been beaten several times by Suiren's patent stick, and now they are accepting the reality obediently.

A thermoelectric power generation module alone has a vital impact on these car companies, not to mention silicon nano-coating, Thor batteries, composite solar panels and the like.

If you don't set up an assembly plant in the country, you'll have to wait to be charged high patent fees by the Patent Committee, and the purchase price of parts will increase a lot.

After all the calculations, many international car companies have chosen to give in. After all, opening assembly plants in China and purchasing spare parts here will reduce the overall cost of the car by about 20 to 30%.

For the automotive industry, which has low profits, this cost reduction will help improve overall profits.

Moreover, cars equipped with thermoelectric power generation modules are very popular in Xizhou Union, which is an area with strict environmental protection. Such fuel-saving hybrid vehicles have naturally become the best choice for many people.

Nowadays, international car companies are increasingly inseparable from domestic spare parts and patents.

If they are asked to relocate their assembly plants to Southeast Asia and Tianzhu now, it is estimated that these car companies will directly scold their mothers and then start violating the rules.

With the entire industrial chain plus raw material, energy, technology and labor costs, it is really difficult to get rid of such a system.

After careful persuasion by Li Zhongding and others, Cook agreed to the Patent Committee’s 4G patent package plan.

At three o'clock that afternoon, Cook signed his name on the patent licensing contract on behalf of Apple, announcing that the patent licensing cooperation was settled.

It was also announced that Apple’s industrial chain transfer plan can only be put on hold temporarily, waiting to look for opportunities in the future.

The completely locked industrial chain can only be transferred from the eastern coastal areas to the central and western regions at this stage.

As for the transfer of industries in other backward areas, we can only wait until China completes its industrial upgrading before transferring some backward production capacity to other areas.

This process may be quite slow, at least until 2020, so don’t think too much about it.

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