Chapter 47: The Wind from the Pacific

The purpose of this trip to America had already been achieved. Although it was not won through a formal court verdict, forcing Microsoft to pay a hefty mouse patent settlement and acknowledge that the patents in use belonged to Dongling High-Tech cleared away the unjust accusations against the company. The objective had been met.

The settlement was one aspect; furthermore, as long as this incident was reported by the media, the dividends of defeating Microsoft would be enough for Dongling High-Tech to profit from for well over a decade.

Since the goal had been achieved, why would Li Dongling need to provoke Microsoft any further? Though an ant could make an elephant stumble, it was only by leveraging external force, not because it truly possessed the strength to contend with an elephant. Li Dongling remained soberly aware of this.

Crediting the New York Times, New York Television, the Chicago Daily News, the Washington Post, and other media outlets spared him from becoming a target of Microsoft's resentment, which was far better than courting trouble.

At the entrance of the Manhattan Federal District Court, Li Dongling’s words were very well received by the reporters on the scene, triggering a wave of applause. In recent years, the reputation of the media and journalists in America had been going downhill. Many people no longer trusted the media, believing they were controlled by Capitol Hill lawmakers, major financial conglomerates, and Wall Street institutions.

Yet now, Li Dongling’s words had "vindicated" the American media. This time, they had helped a tragic hero "defeat" the demonic entity known as Microsoft!

Although those who knew the truth were well aware that Microsoft's concession to Dongling High-Tech was not due to media reports, nor out of fear of Dongling High-Tech, but rather because of concerns about a rupture with companies like Hewlett-Packard, the fear of falling stock prices, and the dread of an antitrust investigation by the Federal Department of Justice, the concessions had been made nonetheless.

However, at this point, did the truth still matter? What everyone saw now was that Dongling High-Tech had defeated Microsoft; justice had triumphed over evil!

"There were merely some misunderstandings between Microsoft and Dongling High-Tech, and certain patents were 'borrowed.' These were just misunderstandings, not plagiarism, and the two sides have now established a cooperative relationship!"

Spencer was still down there trying hard to spin the narrative, claiming that Microsoft had not engaged in plagiarism this time, that it was merely a lovely misunderstanding, and that Microsoft was willing to make concessions.

Yet, nobody paid any attention to Spencer's words. After interviewing Li Dongling, the reporters at the scene dispersed in a rush, hurrying back to prepare their latest reports.

"The Most Expensive Settlement in Tech History!"

"Microsoft Admits Defeat for the First Time!"

"Justice May Be Delayed, But It Arrives: Far Eastern Tech Company Wins Eighteen Million Dollars in Settlement from Microsoft!"

News of Microsoft bowing its head and paying a massive settlement to Dongling High-Tech was reported by various media outlets, including Fortune and BusinessWeek.

However, the primary focus of the coverage remained Microsoft. As for Li Dongling and Dongling High-Tech, they were merely glossed over with a few brief sentences; after all, Microsoft made for far more compelling news.

By settling with Dongling High-Tech, Microsoft expressed its stance that it would not abandon the computer market. Immediately afterward, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and a host of other companies announced the continuation of their partnerships with Microsoft, and the Microsoft-Intel alliance would remain in full effect!

While the media and onlookers were still playing the role of amused spectators, Microsoft's stock price surged dramatically. The losses of the past few days bounced right back up in the blink of an eye. The meager settlement paid to Dongling High-Tech had already been recouped over two hundred times over by Microsoft. Compared to stock prices and market capitalization, what did a bit of reputation matter?!

Inside Pixar Animation Studios, work was currently in full swing on Toy Story, scheduled for release next year. The goal of this animated film was to become the world's first fully 3D computer-animated feature.

Inside Pixar's offices, bursts of roaring could be heard from time to time, followed by several supervisors walking out of the office while wiping cold sweat from their foreheads.

With the scheduled release date looming next year, Steve Jobs remained dissatisfied with the development of Toy Story and kept demanding revisions, driving Pixar's supervisors and developers to the brink of misery. They finally understood how the nickname "Tyrant," given to Jobs within Apple, had come to be.

Inside the office, only Jobs remained. He let out a long sigh. He had pinned high hopes on Pixar; otherwise, he would not have invested so much attention in it. Next year's Toy Story was regarded by Jobs as his "comeback" battle.

Ever since leaving Apple, Jobs had founded NeXT Computer and acquired the computer animation graphics studio from Star Wars director George Lucas, eventually forming Pixar Animation Studios.

Although NeXT had made some waves, compared to Jobs's tenure at Apple, its reception could only be described as lukewarm.

Therefore, Jobs was now focusing his core efforts on Pixar Animation Studios, hoping to use Pixar to stage a comeback. Ever since leaving Apple, he had been dormant for far too long.

Picking up a newspaper, Jobs couldn't help but smile when he saw the news that Microsoft had settled and paid compensation to Dongling High-Tech.

Of course he could see through the maneuvers behind the scenes and understood why Microsoft would bow its head. But as Bill Gates's long-time rival—though no longer at Apple—seeing Microsoft suffer a rare defeat prompted Jobs to pay a bit more attention to Dongling High-Tech.

As a perfectionist detail-obsessed fanatic, Jobs never believed that things happened without a reason in this world. So many companies, including Apple, had failed to make Microsoft bow back then; yet this unknown company from overseas had managed to do it. Jobs did not believe this was purely a matter of luck!

"Get me a Mechanical Silver Mink mouse!" Jobs picked up the phone and called his assistant.

Just like Jobs, there were no shortage of onlookers in the American tech industry who enjoyed watching Microsoft stumble. Right now, there was a palpable trend of people cheering from all directions whenever Microsoft ran into trouble.

Bai Wenxi was a correspondent for Hong Kong's Phoenix Television stationed in America. At the time, aside from mainland state media, mainland-based media agencies in America were mostly limited to a few newspaper offices and outlets from Hong Kong. Because the operating costs were so exorbitant, maintaining a correspondent team in America or Europe was enough to support dozens of reporters, a burden small media outlets simply could not afford.

Having packed up her gear and hung her camera around her neck, she had originally prepared to interview a celebrity from Hong Kong who was visiting America. Just as she was about to turn off the television and head out, an Asian face suddenly appearing on the screen caught her attention.

"Dongling High-Tech Wins Patent Lawsuit Against Microsoft!"

Looking at Li Dongling on the screen, Bai Wenxi, who had stayed in America long enough to know what kind of behemoth Microsoft was, dropped her jaw in astonishment. Then, realization struck her: why bother reporting on some Hong Kong celebrity visiting America? What could be more shocking than an Eastern company defeating a Western corporate giant? She felt that transmitting this story back to Hong Kong would undoubtedly trigger a massive sensation!

"In our next news segment, the latest report from our America-based correspondent, Bai Wenxi: A patent lawsuit between the Hanshi Dongling High-Tech Company and the American Microsoft Corporation reached a settlement in New York today. Microsoft acknowledged that the mouse patents belong to Dongling High-Tech, agreed to pay an eighteen-million-dollar settlement, and Dongling High-Tech has dropped all further lawsuits against Microsoft worldwide.

This marks the first time since the dawn of the computer technology era that an Eastern company has defeated a Western tech corporation..."

After the news segment and commercials, it should have been the time for Phoenix Television to broadcast a drama series in Hong Kong, but another news segment suddenly appeared. The viewers watching the program initially cursed under their breath upon seeing more news, but once they finished watching the broadcast, they sat there frozen in shock.

Hong Kong currently boasted many tycoons across various industries—shipping kings, electronics kings, fan kings, television kings, and so on. Yet no matter how resounding their reputations or how vast their fortunes were, their influence was essentially confined to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. The Pacific Ocean seemed to be an uncrossable chasm for these Hong Kong tycoons.

Especially in the electronic technology industry, Hong Kong companies probably felt this most deeply. Most Hong Kong electronics companies were content to act as agents for Western companies or handle contract manufacturing. When attempting to compete with those corporations, they faced suppression in technology and patents. No matter how famous they became, they ultimately could not step outside the borders of Southeast Asia.

Yet now, a mainland company, thousands of miles away in America, had defeated Microsoft, a company that held a dominant position even within the Western tech industry. Even if, from Microsoft's perspective, it was merely an insignificant mouse patent lawsuit, the shock to the people of Hong Kong was immense!

"Computer Mouse King Defeats Microsoft!"

Early the next morning, Hong Kong media outlets began reporting on the story, directly bestowing the title of "Mouse King" upon Li Dongling and Dongling High-Tech.

Following closely behind, several major Hong Kong media outlets—including dozens of large and small newspapers and magazines such as the Oriental Daily News, Sing Tao Daily, South China Morning Post, and Ming Pao—began covering the Dongling High-Tech incident to varying degrees.

"Asia's top-tier tech company, Dongling High-Tech, wins its patent lawsuit against Microsoft. Dongling High-Tech's Silver Mink mouse is set to become the world's most popular mouse brand. Industry professionals estimate that sales of the Silver Mink mouse could surpass half a million units this year!"

"A new-generation technological genius! Dongling High-Tech's valuation exceeds three hundred million Hong Kong dollars, and Li Dongling is poised to rank among Asia's top billionaires!"

Compared to the mainstream broadsheets, tabloid media were far more unrestrained. Whether things were factual didn't matter; where the data came from didn't matter either. The crucial thing was to capture eyeballs. In the reports of these tabloids, the Mechanical Silver Mink mouse was already sold out, even though it was actually still piled up in a warehouse in Guangzhou and had not yet officially gone on sale.

Meanwhile, Dongling High-Tech's valuation and Li Dongling's personal net worth skyrocketed in the sensationalized reports of these tabloid media outlets.

Yet no matter how absurd the reports were, there were people who read and believed them. Soon, Chinese-language newspapers and media in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Siam, and elsewhere began reporting on it as well.

Whether in Hong Kong or the mainland, society was currently in an era lacking in self-confidence, an era that desperately yearned for heroes. When a victory occurred in the realm of technology—the field in which the West took the most pride—even if it wasn't won through a courtroom verdict, but merely a settlement yielding compensation, it would still be hailed as heroic!

News from Hong Kong first spread to Guangdong Province, and that very afternoon, the Guangzhou Evening News published a report citing news from Phoenix Television and other media outlets.

Before most domestic media outlets could react and before the domestic tech industry had taken notice, state television suddenly broadcasted a news report covering the lawsuit!