Chapter 9

Aleksai opened his mouth wide, looking at Yang Yun in disbelief. It was the first time he had heard Yang Yun place such importance on patent rights.

After all, just a few days ago, Yang Yun had strongly demanded to copy Super Mario. Aleksai had always thought that this Chinese person viewed the law as nothing and was extremely ignorant.

In fact, Yang Yun was full of bitterness that he couldn't express! Giving up these classic games was like cutting out a piece of his heart!

Snake was developed in 1976, and its popularity peaked during the Nokia era. Now, it was unclear who held the patent. In any case, Nintendo did not include this game on the FC, so after creating the game, Yang Yun never mentioned the patent issue for Snake.

As for Super Mario, it was a different story. Nintendo had already claimed the first blood, and this was destiny, a part of real history that could not be changed by human will.

Yang Yun could only try to fight for the subsequent classics. He had once regretted not being reborn in 1984, when the FC was just released. If he had been, he could have swept all the FC games!

But what good was regret?

Tetris was different. In 1989, the Soviet Union had not yet dissolved. Even if someone had created Tetris, who knew if there would still be a patent holder after the dissolution? The patent office might not even exist anymore!

In real history, Tetris was invented on June 6, 1989, initially running on PC personal computers. It was ported to the FC home console that same year. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Nintendo seized the opportunity and ported Tetris to their Game Boy, which sold incredibly well, with at least 110 million units sold worldwide!

Who from the 1980s and 1990s didn't play Tetris on a Game Boy in their childhood? It could be said that Tetris played an indispensable role in Nintendo's success!

Since Super Mario was yours, can we grab Tetris, right?

This is what Yang Yun thought at first, though he didn't completely give up on Super Mario.

So he decided to focus on Tetris today, determined to ride the wave of Nintendo's rapid expansion. After all, in the coming years, Nintendo would control over 90% of the global gaming market with the Super NES and Game Boy!

Only by following in the footsteps of this giant could he achieve his goal of creating high-quality games!

Aleksai asked in disbelief, "You mean... you'll give me the copyright and patent rights to the game?"

Seeing Yang Yun nod with a smile, Aleksai felt dizzy, as if a huge pie had fallen from the sky!

Yang Yun knew Aleksai would be overjoyed and speechless.

Yang Yun smiled, "Of course, it's not free. I have conditions. First, apply for the patent in your name, but I want to be the second applicant. The ownership will be shared between us, but on the surface, you will be the main holder. Do you have any objections?"

It was impossible to give such a popular game to a Russian for free. He had to add a Chinese name to it. In the future, everyone would know that this game was jointly developed by China and Russia. Yang Yun was willing to give up the naming rights, but he had to leave his name in history, making his rebirth worthwhile.

Aleksai nodded quickly. He had done nothing and was getting a patent for free. What more could he ask for?

Yang Yun continued, "Second, I want 70% of the future patent royalties and all the profits from Tetris."

Aleksai didn't have a specific concept of money. No one could predict how much Tetris would earn in the future. Getting 30% for free was no loss at all!

As for why he was willing to share the money with Aleksai, Yang Yun had thought it through. This was a special time, and special measures were needed.

Seeing that Aleksai agreed, Yang Yun smiled, "Third, I want a cash compensation. It might be a large amount. When you leave China, leave all your savings in China to me. Are you willing?"

Aleksai was stunned and asked angrily, "What will I have left?"

Yang Yun smiled, "You will have the naming rights to the game. You will become a source of pride for the Soviet people. Your name will be recorded in history, and you will become a legend in the history of computing! I suggest you name it—Tetris!"

"Oh..." Aleksai was thoroughly conflicted.

The naming rights were incredibly valuable! This game was created by Yang Yun alone, and it would be called Tetris instead of Chinese Blocks, with the cost being only Aleksai's savings in China.

Aleksai was tempted. He saw the potential of the game and began to imagine that in fifty or a hundred years, people would call him the father of Tetris!

If he used his 180,000 RMB savings in China to get the naming rights, 30% of the patent royalties, and immense fame, after careful consideration, he immediately agreed!

Yang Yun finally felt relieved and said, "By the way, there's one more thing. You'll have to pay the patent application fees. I don't have a single dollar!"

Aleksai laughed, "Yang! It seems you not only have your eyes on my savings in China but also on my international account! No problem, once I talk to Zhao, the money will be transferred quickly!"

Yang Yun quickly gestured to stop him, looking into Aleksai's eyes and saying, "Don't tell Factory Director Zhao!"

Aleksai was stunned, "Why?"

Yang Yun said coldly, "If you tell him, Tetris will become Huamao Blocks!"

This was an obvious result, but as a relatively simple technical expert, Aleksai didn't fully understand the Chinese situation.

In China at the time, so-called copyright and patent documents were basically just pieces of paper, with no legal protection. People casually trampled on the law, and piracy was rampant. Whatever was popular was immediately copied, and local protectionism was widespread because everything belonged to the state, including small patents!

Aleksai immediately understood and nodded, "Let's do it, Yang! Let's sign the authorization and transfer contract!"

The two signed their names and pressed their fingerprints. Yang Yun finally felt relieved, "Now, listen to me. We'll organize the source code and apply to Factory Director Zhao to go to Shenzhen. As a foreigner, you can enter and exit Hong Kong, so the patent issue will be handled by you!"

Aleksai enthusiastically hugged Yang Yun, full of confidence, "I'll take care of it! Long live the friendship between the Chinese and Soviet peoples!"

...

...

The production at Huamao Electronics Factory was in full swing. After struggling for several years, they finally had a best-selling product, and they were determined to seize the opportunity to develop. The old masters who originally made electronic products had now learned to burn cartridges, busy with their piracy efforts while constantly urging Zhao Yongping to set up new production lines.

Just then, Aleksai and Yang Yun arrived together, requesting another trip to Shenzhen. Yang Yun said he wanted to check on the progress of his peers, while Aleksai wanted to examine international companies' cartridge games.

The three immediately set out, leaving Aleksai at the newly built SEG Electronics Market, which had over 200 domestic and Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan manufacturers. Japanese Panasonic and American 3M were also testing the waters, setting up booths here.

Zhao Yongping and Yang Yun continued their journey. Under the introduction of dealer Mao Daxin, they went to the Kotei Card Factory, which was the Shenzhen branch of the China Electronics Corporation.

Zhao Yongping was shocked, "Old Mao! You know our cards are cracked versions of Kotei..."

Mao Daxin smiled mysteriously, "Factory Director Zhao! I may be a vulgar person, but I would never harm a friend. Aren't you short on production? We don't even need to enter the factory. You'll see once we get there!"

...

...

PS: Tetris was invented on PC in 1984, but it went through several years of copyright disputes, with the inventor and the company having a very unpleasant relationship. The patent issues dragged on for years. Nintendo launched the Game Boy in 1989 and ported Tetris to the handheld, which then became popular worldwide. Before that, it had only spread in small circles. For the sake of the plot, I had to change this. Otherwise, if someone else had invented it, the book would be game over. It's not possible for Yang Yun to be reborn in 1984 in Japan to make cartridge games, right? Haha...

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