Super Copy of Great Power Technology

"After you go back, urge the R&D department to speed up the development of new processes and seize the 14nm process technology as soon as possible. Also find some commercial spies, or invade through the network, or bribe technicians. I don't care what method they use, just give it to me as soon as possible. Money is not a problem when we get Rockchip's 7nm chip production technology. Also, contact ASML and ask them why they provided an advanced EUV lithography machine to a mainland company but didn't sell it to us Four Star. Is that possible? Our shares were bought for nothing.”

In Ugly Country, Apple's wireless loop campus, Tim Cook, who had just taken over as chief operating officer from Steve Jobs, and a dozen core R&D executives gathered in a conference room for a meeting. The core topic of their discussion was the Ritar MateBook laptop placed on the conference table. Tim Cook played with the laptop in front of him and said: "This is a laptop developed by a company in mainland China. After it was put on the market, it achieved good sales, even surpassing the sales of our Apple notebooks in mainland China. What interests me even more is that this MateBook notebook uses a processor based on ARM architecture, which not only ensures performance, but also takes into account battery life. After our testing, this notebook can play twelve videos online. The battery life is more than 2 hours, and the system installed on this notebook is also a brand-new Kaitian system, which can actually run Windows software and our MacOS software through translation. This research and development idea is worth learning from. , I suggest that Apple should also invest in developing processors based on ARM architecture for use in MacBook notebooks.”

This afternoon, Qiao Ruida and Du Qingqing were studying in the library, and their mobile phones on the desk suddenly vibrated. Qiao Ruida put down the mathematics journal in her hand, picked up her mobile phone and looked at it. The call was from Luo Yuankai, the director of Rockchip Wafer Factory. It seemed that there was something very important, and she had to talk to him, otherwise she would not have called him directly. . In order not to break the silence in the study room and disturb other students from reading and studying, Qiao Ruida took her mobile phone and walked out of the study room quietly, came to the corridor, and then swiped her finger to answer the call.

"Hello, I'm Qiao Ruida. What's the matter with Director Luo calling me?"

"Mr. Qiao, TSMC has sued Rockchip, saying that we hired Lin Mengsong illegally and were suspected of misappropriating TSMC's patented technology. As you also know, most of the members of Rockchip's legal department are patent attorneys. We will not be able to deal with this legal lawsuit." Not caught. I'm calling you, Mr. Qiao, because I'm wondering if we can second some professional lawyers from Reda Technology's legal department to deal with this lawsuit." Luo Yuankai, who was on the other side of the phone, spoke very quickly and in an anxious tone. , showing his anxious heart at this time.

"Director Luo, don't worry, it's just a lawsuit, it's no big deal. Looking at large technology companies at home and abroad, there is no year when there aren't several patent dispute lawsuits. I remember Lin Mengsong has resigned from TSMC for several years, right? , we hired him as the chief engineer of Rockchip's wafer fab, how could it be illegal? And it is even more nonsense to say that we have stolen TSMC's patented technology. Rockchip has initially mastered the 7nm chip production technology, and TSMC's 28nm process. I still don’t understand the technology very well. The technical gap between the two is at least five years. What’s the value of their backward technology?”

"The thing is like this. When Mr. Lin used to work at TSMC, he signed a non-compete agreement, which stipulated that if Mr. Lin resigned from TSMC, he would not be allowed to engage in integrated circuit-related work within four years. This is why Mr. Lin is The reason why when I was working in Bangkok, I didn’t directly join the four-star company, but joined the university and served as a professor. When Lin Mengsong joined our Rockchip fab last year, he happened to be stuck at the end of the four-year period, which led to TSMC's lawsuit. As for the misappropriation of patents, it is really TSMC's conjecture. When Lin Mengsong joined the company, he did bring in several technical personnel from Baodao, several of whom were employees who had resigned from TSMC. It is speculated that our Rockchip uses some of TSMC's technologies. In fact, most of the technologies used in our Rockchip wafer fab are provided by you, Mr. Qiao, and have little to do with those technical staff." After being comforted and encouraged by Qiao Ruida, Luo Yuankai calmed down immediately and his thinking became much clearer.

"So that's it, you are not afraid of being distorted by your shadow. Rockchip's chip production technology is independently developed. This is supported by a large number of patent documents. Director Luo, you can respond with confidence, lawyer team The support will be in place immediately. We have the advantage and we have the advantage of fighting in the local area, so we don’t have to worry about going to court with anyone.”

Qiao Ruida recalled that in the past few years, TSMC had repeatedly sued SMIC for patent infringement on similar grounds and achieved a comprehensive victory. It received hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation and obtained 8% of SMIC's equity for free. When SMIC was first established, most of the founding team members were from Baodao. Some of TSMC's technology was indeed used in the chip production process. This was the main reason why they lost the lawsuit. In addition, SMIC was listed on Nasdaq in 04 and was controlled by US laws. TSMC also sued SMIC in US courts and achieved success.

The Rockchip wafer factory is completely different from SMIC. The chip production technology used by Rockchip wafer factory, whether it is the mature 28nm process or the new 7nm process, is the same technology that Qiao Ruida introduced on the Internet ten years later. Finding the picture and borrowing the technology obtained by golden finger scanning and analysis has nothing to do with today's TSMC. Who would believe that Rockchip has stolen TSMC's technology and that the party with advanced technology left its own 7nm process technology unused and stole its rival's immature 28nm process technology to produce chips? Moreover, the two major investors in Rockchip's wafer fab are both from China. They are purely Chinese companies and have no intention of going public abroad. If TSMC wants to sue Rockchip, it can only sue in the court in Decheng City, where the Rockchip fab is located. The possibility of winning the case is slim. You must know that since the completion of the first phase of the project, Rockchip Wafer Factory has paid an astronomical amount of profits and taxes to Decheng City every month, provided at least tens of thousands of jobs, and stimulated countless surrounding industries. Such excellent local enterprises must be the focus of the Decheng Municipal Government. What's more, in this lawsuit, Rockchip Wafer Factory is still the party taking the initiative, so how can it lose the lawsuit?

After hanging up the phone, Qiao Ruida put away her phone and quietly returned to the study room and sat next to her girlfriend. Du Qingqing leaned close to Qiao Ruida's ear and asked in a low voice: "Ruida, who called just now?"

"It's Director Luo from Rockchip Wafer Factory calling, asking for legal support from Reda Technology." Qiao Reda answered casually, then picked up the journal and continued reading.

"Requesting legal support. Is it going to be a lawsuit? Is Rockchip Fab the plaintiff or the defendant?" In the two years since its establishment, Reda Technology has been involved in several legal disputes, but they were all minor conflicts and most of them were settled out of court. , did not go to the point of going to court. Now Rockchip Wafer Factory has begun to request legal support from the parent company. What it has to deal with is definitely a big trouble. No wonder Du Qingqing is curious. "Rockchip is the defendant, and the plaintiff is TSMC. The cause of the matter is this..." Qiao Ruida told Du Qingqing the whole story in a low voice, and finally said, "In my opinion, the chance of TSMC winning the lawsuit is very slim. I really don't know. Where did they get the courage to fight this lawsuit?”

Du Qingqing held his chin, tilted his head, and thought for a long time before saying: "Maybe TSMC is not filing this lawsuit to win the lawsuit and get compensation, but just to delay time. As far as I know, now The global chip foundry business is basically monopolized by TSMC and Four Star. Our Rockchip fab has not only mastered the mature 28nm process technology, but also developed the 7nm process technology that shocked the industry. This has fundamentally changed. This has shaken TSMC’s chip foundry dominance. At this time, TSMC sued Rockchip for patent infringement in order to prevent customers from cooperating with Rockchip. The trial process for technology patent disputes like this is very long. It is complicated and the evidence collection process is very troublesome. It is normal for a lawsuit to take two or three years. With this period of time, TSMC has invested a lot in research and development, and may have won the 28nm or even 14nm chip production technology in the 7nm process technology. "We have also made some progress. In this way, even if the lawsuit fails in two or three years, it will not matter. By then, TSMC will have the technical strength to compete head-on with Rockchip."

Those large international technology companies still cherish their feathers and will not easily cooperate with a company that is surrounded by lawsuits. What's more, Rockchip Wafer Factory is still a purely Chinese company without any investment from international capital. When it opens up the international market, it encounters extraordinary resistance. So much so that in the one year since its establishment, Rockchip Wafer Factory has received very few foreign chip foundry orders, and none at all from foreign companies. Nowadays, Rockchip Wafer Factory has initially mastered the 7nm process technology, and the yield rate has been controlled above the cost line. It is now time to develop the international market and seize high-end customers. TSMC chose this critical moment to file a patent lawsuit, which can be described as sinister and sophisticated.

"As you said, this is really what happened. TSMC chose to sue Rockchip for patent infringement at this time. It knew that it would not win and still persisted in the lawsuit. It was probably to delay the lawsuit. Using the excuse of the lawsuit, it delayed In the past two or three years, the technological gap has not been that big, and Rockchip's attempts to enter the international market have been eliminated. It's really a good calculation, but it doesn't matter, now Rockchip's second phase. The project has not yet been completed, and the chip production capacity is very limited. It is difficult to meet the chip foundry needs of Reda Technology. It is not so urgent to enter the international chip foundry market. Even if the second phase of the project is completed and put into production next year, the production capacity will explode. Domestic companies can also make a lot of money if they do well in their chip foundry business.”

In this new life, no one knows better than Qiao Ruida how big the domestic demand for chips is and how exaggerated the market growth potential is. According to a scientific research article I read in a previous life, chip imports exceeded US$2020 billion for three consecutive years from 2022 to 4000. Among them, China's domestic chip production capacity will reach 2022 billion in 840, but it will also import 5384 billion overseas chips. Domestic chip demand is so huge that even if Rockchip Wafer Factory captures one-fifth of it, it will be able to eat a lot and make a lot of money. When Qiao Ruida invested in establishing the Rockchip wafer fab, it was just to solve the production problems of Ruida Technology's advanced chips. Find a seemingly reasonable origin for the emergence of a large number of advanced chips. As for whether Rockchip's wafer fab can make money, Qiao Ruida is not too concerned about whether it can make more or less. This may be the willfulness of men in science and engineering. They are two completely different species from entrepreneurs. They value technology far more than making money.

Two days later, in the morning, in the Shijia Hutong courtyard, Qiao Ruida sorted out dozens of patent documents and put them in her suitcase. In the bedroom next to the wall, Du Qingqing was helping him pack his clothes and pack his luggage.

"Ruida, are you returning to Decheng City this time just to help Rockchip Wafer Factory with the lawsuit?" Du Qingqing folded several sets of seasonal clothes, put them in the suitcase, and asked.

"The main purpose of my return to my hometown this time is to participate in the winter testing of new cars at the Reda Automobile Factory. To testify in court and submit key evidence is just a side trip." Qiao Reda went to the bathroom and packed his toothbrush, toothpaste, and brushing cylinder in plastic bags He got up and put it into his suitcase, while not forgetting to answer his girlfriend's questions.

"Where should the winter testing of new cars be conducted, locally in Decheng City, or to the Northeast?" Du Qingqing, like other women, has little interest in cars and does not know what items should be tested in the winter testing of cars and the specific environmental requirements.

"This winter test is going to Mohe, the northernmost city in China. It has beautiful scenery and a cold climate. It snows many times throughout the winter. It is very suitable for testing the cold resistance of the car. Mohe is a famous tourist city in Northeast China, where you can ski. You can skate, make snowmen, see ice sculptures, and have the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful Northern Lights. Are you interested? Do you want to take a leave and go to Mohe with me? "Close the lid of the suitcase and zip it up. Just zip it up and you're ready for travel.

"Traveling to the Northeast, skiing, skating, making snowmen, and watching the Northern Lights is very exciting and desirable. Unfortunately, this semester's courses are not over yet. I can't miss class to accompany you on the trip, right?" When Qiao Ruida invited her, Du Qingqing was really excited to travel to Mohe, but she had been a good girl since she was a child, and she had never asked for leave and skipped school. (End of chapter)