American History 1988
Chapter 158 - 152: I Respect Knowledge

Chapter 158: Chapter 152: I Respect Knowledge

"Your Honor, esteemed members of the committee, haven’t we all overlooked something?" Dean’s face was a picture of bewilderment.

"What is the purpose of international industry standards? Isn’t it to promote the development of industries?

Bell Company is now using a non-industry excuse to initiate a patent lawsuit against Byte Software today.

Then is it possible that tomorrow they could use another reason to sue any company?

What impression does this leave on our allies? It only leads to everyone feeling insecure within the industry, which completely contradicts the original intention of establishing international standards.

Furthermore, the International Telecommunications Union has made it very clear about the principle of fairness and non-discrimination, that any member manufacturing and selling products compliant with the G.722 standard falls within the union’s recognition.

Can’t the licensing certificates in our hands prove the legality of Byte Company’s conduct?"

Dean picked up a photocopy and boldly showed it to the seats of the committee members and to the media behind them, "Additionally, I have some confusion regarding the interpretation for the industry.

We all know that the manufacturing of a computer involves many industry standards, such as the PS2 port for connecting keyboards and mice.

This is considered a computer industry standard, and IBM allows computer manufacturers to use it for free.

Then, besides IBM, Apple, Compaq, and these computer manufacturers, are the mechanical factories that design molds for the PS2 port considered part of the computer industry?

They also use the dimensions and other parameters defined by the interface. If not, do these mold manufacturers need to pay patent fees?

The same logic applies to Byte Company. The most important point is the definition of the International Telecommunications Union.

It is the United Nations agency in charge of information and communication technology affairs, did you notice the word ’information’? Byte Company is undoubtedly an information company.

Therefore, Bell’s accusation that we’re ’non-industry’ is completely unfounded, and personally, I think industry standards should be open and welcome any company that tries to enter the relevant industry.

Only in this way can the industry develop and grow, and then create more value."

Dean’s speech triggered a flurry of camera flashes in the hall, and discussions gradually arose from the seats of the hearing.

Ding-a-ling~ William Swaze pressed the electronic button again, signaling for silence in the court.

"Mr. Dean Price, you still haven’t answered my question. When applying for the standard, did you clarify its use, and is the Teams software still being sold? Answer ’yes’ or ’no’!"

"Yes," Dean nodded calmly.

Without giving him a break, William Swaze continued, "The relationship between standards and patents as handled by the International Telecommunications Union still requires further investigation by the court.

However, according to the Patent Office’s archives, the ADPCM technology patent belongs to Southern Bell.

Previously, because of the International Telecommunications Union’s receipt as proof, this could explain the legal motive for your actions.

Nevertheless, after Byte Company received written notice from Southern Bell, it still continued the alleged patent infringing software sales. Was this a subjective decision by you?"

"Yes!" Dean nodded again calmly, his response once more eliciting a barrage of camera flashes.

Ignoring the outside reactions, Dean continued to explain, "But this does not mean Byte Company is intentionally infringing Southern Bell’s patent rights, as we are using our own patents."

The WSGR staff distributed another set of materials in coordination. After the main personnel had received copies provided by Byte Company, Dean resumed speaking.

"The voice expansion scheme used in Teams 2.0 is our voice capturing patent technology that we have just obtained approval for last month.

It does not originate from Bell and certainly does not involve so-called patent infringement, so our business activities are legal and legitimate."

"But your patent is an improvement on Bell’s patent, which still constitutes infringement!"

Bell’s side soon realized the nature of Byte Company’s patent application was still inseparably connected to the original patent.

"But this is our patent!" Boris Feldman contended, "Mind your measures, we have the right to initiate a lawsuit against you for patent abuse!"

An improved patent is still a patent.

If the original patent holder abuses its patent rights and refuses to license the improvement to the improver, the improver has the right to request a compulsory license from the Patent Office.

Procedural justice insists that, as long as there is a legal basis, Byte Company will not relent.

The judges and jurors at the chairman’s desk, seeing that Byte Company had produced another patent certificate, also began to discuss internally.

The purpose of the hearing was to fully allow both parties to give as detailed an explanation as possible for their respective statements so that the judge could make the fairest judgment during the trial.

But more than an hour into the hearing, not only were the disputes between the sides not clarified, but the points of contention were actually increasing.

William Swaze already sensed that this lawsuit would not just be about patent disputes; it could even be broken down into several independent cases.

After quite some time of confrontation, Bell’s side still did not acknowledge the legitimacy of Byte Company’s patent.

Because the complexity of the situation exceeded expectations, William Swaze decided to provide written notification from the judge after internal discussion.

"Mr. Dean Price, before the hearing concludes, do you have anything else you would like to state?"

"I respect all American legal provisions concerning patent rights, and I also respect the International Telecommunications Union’s principles of fairness and openness.

I’m just a country boy from the Rust Belt. It took me a year to gather the tuition to go to Stanford.

My father and mother both entered the factory without graduating from high school. They had limited education but never ceased to encourage my pursuit of knowledge.

Even though my mother developed asthma after working too long in the steel factory and unfortunately passed away two years ago.

Even though my father lost his job due to the factory closing and now can only sustain a living by working as a mover."

But I know they’ve always been proud of me as a family, just because I got into college.

Unfortunately, my mother didn’t get to see the day I came to Stanford, but my father drove an old Chevrolet pickup with a Stanford insignia sticker all summer long in that small Youngstown city.

Just because I was the only student from Youngstown to get into Stanford in five years.

I have an insatiable thirst for knowledge, and I respect it immensely.

The first thing I did before founding Byte Company was to consult a lawyer to make sure that everything I was doing was lawful and legitimate.

Just like I applied for authorization from the International Telecommunication Union before developing Teams, I respect the value of all knowledge creation.

Luckily, Teams has been well received by everyone, and so far, we have nearly 500 employees.

By the end of the year, this number is expected to double to a thousand, most of whom are from California; they are an excellent team.

Today, I am fortunate to stand here and explain Byte Company’s actions on behalf of them to all of you judges and legislators.

We accept all the outcomes of the legal judgment and believe that justice will take pity on us."

...

Right now, at the entrance of the Northern District Court of California, media reporters from around the Bay Area are squatting here.

They haven’t been allowed to enter the hearing hall, so they can only hope to get firsthand news here.

Besides these reporters, there are many people on both sides of the street in front of the court holding protest banners.

"Bell octopus, roll out of Silicon Valley," "Byte Company is righteous," "Support Dean," "Arise! Don’t let Bell monopolize the IT industry anymore!"

These are tech enthusiasts from the Bay Area, who embody the spirit of a geek, insisting that sharing is the key to technological advancement.

Bell’s actions undoubtedly run counter to their geek ideals.

After nearly a month of publicity, the patent dispute between Byte Company and Bell has become well known here in the Bay Area, and most people on the West Coast are aware of it.

Just as reporters were using interviews with the demonstrators here as material for their stories, suddenly, there was a commotion at the entrance of the court.

Dean, in a suit, quickly walked toward the parking area under the escort of security personnel.

"Mr. Dean Price, could you spare a moment? What are your expectations for the outcome of this hearing?"

In addition to the throng of reporters, many supporters were also chanting slogans like "Dean, keep it up."

Slowing down slightly, Dean waved to the crowd with a smile, immediately drawing cheers.

"So, Mr. Dean Price, does that mean there’s good news from the hearing?"

Facing numerous microphones, Dean did not reveal much.

"I trust that the judge will give Byte Company a fair trial, as everyone has seen. We have ample evidence to prove that all of Byte Company’s actions are lawful and reasonable."

Since the hearing will not deliver any verdict and the judge will not reveal his leanings, right now no one knows which way this litigation will go.

After a few more polite remarks, Dean and the Byte Company delegation left in their cars.

As for the Bell delegation that came out a step behind Dean’s group, they were met with hisses from the many tech enthusiasts.

Bell, or more precisely AT&T’s team, was not in the mood to deal with these run-of-the-mill reporters.

They were all stern-faced and left the court without answering any questions from the reporters.

...

"Bay Area NBC reporting, the recent patent dispute between Southern Bell and Byte Company was held in a pre-trial hearing at the Northern District Federal Court.

Byte Company’s founder and CEO, Dean Price, personally attended the hearing.

This young founder detailed the various charges by Bell and presented the related written proof to the judges and jury members.

Let’s join us and listen to the young founder’s explanation during the hearing."

As the host’s voice faded, the TV screen switched to the courtroom scene where Dean was making his final statement.

...

"San Francisco CBS News reporting, regarding this hearing. Founders from Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics, MITS, Oracle, and other companies expressed their support for Byte Software."

"We all know this is all caused by Bell’s bandit logic. Byte Software has already been recognized by the International Telecommunication Union.

But the shameless Bell is backtracking, their clumsy and stupid excuses won’t fool anyone with a sense of justice!" Clark of Silicon Graphics didn’t mince words criticizing Bell, even more bluntly than Dean did.

"We all know what it would mean if Bell wins, all industry standards and organizations will be thrown into chaos.

No one wants to face the risk of being sued by a standard patent holder out of the blue.

This will be a disruptive case. I can’t even imagine what will happen next." Andy from Sun Microsystems expressed his concerns to the camera.

Snap, Dean turned off the remote control in his hand.

"Dean, perhaps it’s time to stoke the fire a bit more." Valentine felt it was not enough, Dean needed a bigger stage.