3、与美国上司的意见分歧

3、与美国上司的意见分歧

欧美企业对Intellectual Property Right（知识产权，简称IPR）问题尤其重视，他们会及时地为自己的invention and innovation（发明创新）申请patent，并将其作为企业发展的key technology（核心技术）。在欧美国家，任何未经授权的人使用其注册的patent都要向其支付巨额费用，如果在没有得到事先permission（许可）的情况下使用了他们的patent，就构成了对其所有的intellectual property right的infringement（侵权），要承担严重的法律后果。侵权的一方因为infringement行为影响了自己的reputation（声誉）不说，还要支付大额的penalty（罚款），绝对是得不偿失的做法。

对于企业来说，patent一向是企业发展过程中影响声誉和利润的最大问题之一，应该在这个问题上谨慎行事，不能侵犯别人的权益，但是更要注意保护自己的权益。在遇到自己企业的某项知识产权遭到侵犯时，一定要努力借助法律等手段来维护自己企业的利益。

现在Nancy所在的Innovo就遇到了这样的问题——公司刚刚发现另外一家南方的private enterprise（民营企业）仿冒和销售他们刚刚研发推出的一款game software（游戏软件）。据可靠市场调查，仿冒品所占的市场销量已经超过了正版。Innovo公司的领导层对这个突发情况感到非常愤怒，却又不知所措，因为毕竟他们不是在美国。Johnson赶快召集各部门负责人开会，一起商量对策。

Nancy也感觉到了事态的严重性，因为公司这个季度的revenue（收益）相当一部分就依靠这个新开发的产品了。现在遇到了这样的问题，损失是unpredictable（不可预计）的。没有别的办法，只能面对问题并赶快找到解决方法，才能最大程度地减少公司的损失。

会议室里气氛非常紧张，Nancy听得出Johnson的情绪很不好，说话的声音都变了：

A small software company is making knockoffs of our latest product and selling them. I say that we must tell them right away to stop, or we'll take them to court. Do I have everyone's support on this?

I'm fully behind you on this, Johnson. If we don't show everyone that we'll hurt them when they do these things, other companies will start to make more knockoffs later.

Yes, we need to punish them, and let others see us punishing them, so nobody else will ever try the same thing.

There will be, however, difficulties. Companies have tried that many, many times before — it rarely works. If we stop this company, there will just be another company that will do the same thing. If there is a chance for making profits, someone will try it.

It's true. But we're cutting our own throats if we don't do something.

You all totally right. We need to, anyway, ask help from lawyers and find a solution. However, it might not work. We have to try another way out as well. I suggest that the Public Affair Department contact the software company and talk to them face to face. We use the "soft power" to let them stop.

What do you mean by "soft power"?

That is what the Public Affairs Department is good at. They need to sweet-talk the people. I suggest that we ask them to settle it.

Johnson显然对中国的国情还不能够完全理解和接受，但是Nancy明白，按照他的思路，把这个事情诉诸法律，效果并不见得就好，很可能两败俱伤。而通过符合中国国情的“软手段”效果会更好。要真正了解和适应中国市场，老外们要学习的东西还有很多。不过要说服上司也的确不是一件容易的事，起码要先做到以下这么两点：

Respect what he says and express your standpoint in time.

If you have different points of view, express them in a soft and acceptable way.