The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 34



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Episode 34 Research Institute (4)

WilmerHale, one of the top five law firms in the United States.

It was said to be every lawyer’s dream job.

It was a difficult place to get into, but a lawyer who joined the company less than three years ago resigned today.

“Hey, Park! Why are you suddenly quitting? Is it because the salary is low? “There is no third-year lawyer who earns as much as you!”

“I am satisfied with my salary.”

Linken, one of WilmerHale’s few partner attorneys.

He couldn’t understand the recent resignation letter from his favorite new lawyer, Park Jun-il.

“But why are you quitting? “What is lacking?”

“I got homesick. “I want to go back to Korea.”

“Are you crazy? You’re going to Korea, not another law firm? “What are you saying you’re going there?”

“You have to return the favor. “The person who helped me attend law school is waiting for me.”

Linken couldn’t understand Park Jun-il’s words even more.

Linken’s voice grew louder, sounding like something a medieval knight would say to a monarch.

“It is enough to repay the favor once you have accumulated your experience. If you work for 5 more years, they will recommend you as a partner lawyer! “If you become a partner at Wilmer Hale and have experience as a lawyer, you can make a living for the rest of your life.”

“I know. However, as a Taewo Group scholarship recipient, I have an obligation to repay the favor.”

“Taewoo Group? Isn’t this a company that makes cheap cars? “If you go there, your career is over.”

“But I still have to go. Thank you so much. “I will definitely repay the kindness I received from my lawyer partner.”

Linken realized that no matter what he said, he couldn’t convince him.

He threw the resignation letter in Park Jun-il’s face.

“If you want to go, you should go. You will realize this when you go to Korea. There is no future there. Come back whenever you want. “I won’t leave your space and will be waiting for you.”

“thank you. “I will contact you often.”

“Don’t do anything unless you tell me you’ll be back!”

Linken was famous for being cold-blooded.

Linken showed warm feelings only towards Park Jun-il.

This was because his abilities were disappointing.

Park Jun-il, who not only graduated from law school with excellent grades but also had extensive knowledge in science and engineering, was a person who should play a large role in the intellectual property dispute that was just beginning.

Park Jun-il also knew it well.

If you don’t quit Wilmer Hale, your life will be rosy.

However, he could not ignore the call of Taewoo Group, which supported everything from expensive law school tuition to living expenses when he did not have money to even eat a piece of bread.

There were many people who made such decisions.

They were Taewoo Scholarship recipients living in the United States or Europe.

I willingly quit my job at the Taewoo Group’s call and boarded a plane to Korea.

And one unexpected person also chose to go to Korea.

His name is Jonathan.

As a designer at Apple, he was contacted through SAVE Investment Company, Apple’s majority shareholder, and couldn’t contain his curiosity and flew to Korea.

The message he received was as follows.

[Message Pad is not trash. I will prove it.]

* * *

Talented people came to the technology research institute one after another.

They were scholarship students who studied with funds provided by the Taewoo Scholarship Foundation.

They were full of pride in being Taewoo Scholarship recipients, so they showed a strong sense of loyalty.

There was no need to make any effort to integrate with the existing technology research institute personnel.

But Jonathan was different.

He was a designer at Apple and did not receive any money from the Taewo Group.

He just came to Korea for a short time out of curiosity about me.

“How are you going to prove that Message Pad isn’t trash? “Apple fell into the abyss because of MessagePad.”

Jonathan was angry as soon as he saw my face.

Well, I did provoke you. Because message pads are disgusting to him.

It was Jonathan who designed the message pad, which was called a rare piece of trash.

But that’s the story for now.

Just a few years later, Message Pad would be called the father of the iPhone.

The iPhone and iPad were possible because of the Message Pad.

And the designs of the iPhone and iPad were also created by Jonathan.

If you can bring someone like that, you can take their anger over and over again.

“Because it was too advanced a technology, it was simply ignored by the public. “We have to come up with technology and products that fit the times for people to accept it.”

“Are you saying Message Pad is a product that is too advanced?”

“It was a product with no intermediate steps. If you take the intermediate steps, your message pad will be re-evaluated, and I can help you do that. “To be exact, why don’t we try to make it happen with me?”

Jonathan said what he wanted most.

But Jonathan still looked angry, and I struck an additional blow.

“I will offer you a higher salary than what you were getting at Apple.”

“Salary is not important.”

So what’s important about money?

My pride as a designer has been shattered.

MessagePad ruined his reputation and put Apple in trouble.

“Let me make you one more promise. Please work with me for just two years and then I will let you go back to Apple. “I will make you a successful designer, not a failed designer.”

“Who are you to make such a promise? “Are you close to Apple’s major shareholder, SAVE Investment Company?”

“I am the actual owner of SAVE Investment Company. As a major shareholder of Apple, of course I want to save Apple. “For that, we need you.”

Jonathan tilted his head.

It may be because he found a contradiction in what I said.

“I want to save Apple, so why not join Taewo Group? Why does that happen?”

“Taewoo Group is planning to make Apple a permanent partner. Everything we developed with you at Taew Group is preparation work for Apple. “I can promise you this with my 20 percent share of Apple.”

“Well, let’s say it’s all true. “But what can I do here?”

I needed his design philosophy.

And I was also one of the few people who could understand his design philosophy.

“Minimalism. Is this the design philosophy you pursue? I have the same philosophy as you.”

“Didn’t you tell me? “The message pad that emphasized minimalism was a product that did not fit the times.”

“Let’s make that intermediate step together with me. And for products after Message Pad, Apple can re-make them.”

“So you want to work with me on mid-level design?”

“I’ve already created a few rough designs.”

I took out a few simple sketch designs.

Flip phones, slide phones, and even smartphones.

It was a design for a mobile phone that would become popular in the future, and it was a product design that was quite different from today’s mobile phones.

“What is this? Is it really a cell phone?”

“I couldn’t draw it properly because my design skills were poor. “Don’t you want to make this design concrete?”

“This is what can be made with today’s technology.”

He correctly pointed to the flip phone.

It was a design similar to Motorola’s StarTac, which will hit the world starting next year.

“Taewoo Electronics has been making mobile phones since the late 80s. The technology is sufficient. There was just a lack of innovative ideas. You have the ability to implement whatever you design. “If we lack technology, we will buy it from other companies.”

“Even if you use funds from SAVE Investment Company?”

“We created SAVE Investment Company for today.”

Taewoo Electronics was one of the companies that produced Korea’s first generation mobile phones.

My grandfather’s vision for the future was never wrong.

It simply failed to flourish properly due to a management style that focused on expanding power rather than technology.

“I feel like I was scammed when I came all the way to Korea. Yeah, I get it. “I will work for you for at least a year.”

“If you go back to Apple, I will never hold you back. “When the time comes, even if you say you don’t want to go, I can send you to Apple.”

“… … But can Apple really be revived?”

“The preparations are also progressing step by step. “I’ll explain that in detail later.”

I reached out to Jonathan.

He hesitated for a moment and then squeezed my hand.

“Just don’t let me call you a failed designer again.”

“That won’t happen. And the intellectual property rights of all designs will belong to Taewo Group.”

“Well, you designed the initial design, so of course it should be.”

Jonathan’s recruitment has ended.

I headed to the newly established patent team with him.

Close to 50 people were waiting for us in the conference room.

“This is Minjae Kim, the general director of the research institute. “Some researchers came here while working on existing projects at the Economic Research Institute, while others came from a long way to join us.”

They were all researchers who turned their heads to check each other’s faces.

There was a sense of awkwardness, especially since many of the newly joined employees were foreigners.

“What you will do now is simple. This involves concretizing an idea and registering it as a patent. “We will proceed with patent registration simultaneously in Korea, as well as in the U.S. and Europe.”

“Conceiving an idea to register a patent is not easy.”

One researcher took courage.

I guess I felt anxious about the very abstract work instructions.

To relieve my anxiety, I showed everyone the idea I had created in my spare time.

From flip phones to smartphones.

It was a draft of an idea I had created while studying in the United States, and it was more numerous than a thick major book.

“I have enough ideas. We will pay you a small bonus every time you patent an idea here. And we provide 5 percent of the revenue earned from patents.”

Five percent was not much compensation.

There may be differences depending on the company, but some companies give up to 30% in compensation.

But since I was the one who came up with the idea, I couldn’t give that much compensation.

“Five percent may seem like little. However, we promise compensation of up to 30 percent to anyone who applies for a patent that is not included in the idea plan here.”

“Is it possible for us to form a team and register a patent?”

Attorney Park Jun-il was the first to react.

Because he worked at a large American law firm, he was well aware that registering a patent was not that difficult.

“Of course it is possible. “You can create a team with the people you want, and if you don’t, I will create a team for you.”

“But exactly how much bonus can I receive for registering a patent?”

“There are differences depending on the level of difficulty. Level 3 difficulty was set at 5 million won, level 2 at 10 million won, and level 1 at 30 million won.”

The researchers looked at the idea plan again.

And the color on their faces was instantaneous.

Everyone realized that the idea was a bonanza.

And then they entered into a fierce battle of wits to dominate each other’s ideas.

It was also a moment when nationality and language barriers disappeared to achieve the purpose of the bonus.