Chapter 47

The purpose of coming to America has been achieved; although we didn’t win the lawsuit, forcing Microsoft to pay a massive settlement for the mouse patent and acknowledge that the patent belongs to Dongling High-Tech has cleared our name—our goal has been met.

The settlement payment is one thing, but this incident, once reported by the media, will bring Dongling High-Tech benefits for more than ten years!

The goal has been achieved; why should Li Dongling provoke Microsoft further? The ant made the elephant stumble, but that was due to external force—not because it truly gained the strength to challenge the elephant. Li Dongling remains fully aware of this.

By attributing all credit to the New York Times, New York Television, Chicago Daily News, Washington Post, and other media outlets, we avoid drawing Microsoft’s lingering attention.

At the entrance of the Manhattan Federal Court, Li Dongling’s words resonated with the reporters on site, sparking a round of applause. Over the years, the media’s reputation in America has deteriorated; many no longer trust them, believing they are controlled by Congress members, big conglomerates, and Wall Street institutions.

But now, Li Dongling’s words have “redeemed” American media—they helped the tragic hero defeat the demonic Microsoft!

Although those who know the truth understand that Microsoft’s concession to Dongling High-Tech had nothing to do with media reports or fear of Dongling High-Tech, but rather stemmed from concerns over alienating HP and other companies, fearing further stock declines, and dreading a federal antitrust investigation.

But at this point, does the truth even matter? What everyone sees now is that Dongling High-Tech defeated Microsoft—justice triumphed over evil!

“There were only some misunderstandings between Microsoft and Dongling High-Tech—some ‘borrowing’ of patents. These were merely misunderstandings, not plagiarism. Both sides have now established a cooperative relationship!”

Spencer was still strenuously explaining, claiming Microsoft had not plagiarized, only made a beautiful mistake, but was willing to make concessions.

But no one paid attention to Spencer’s words; after interviewing Li Dongling, the reporters immediately dispersed, rushing back to prepare their latest reports.

“Most expensive patent settlement in tech history!”

“Microsoft admits defeat for the first time!”

“Justice may be late, but it arrives: Far East tech company awarded $18 million in settlement from Microsoft!”

News of Microsoft bowing down and paying Dongling High-Tech a massive settlement was reported by all major media outlets, including Fortune and BusinessWeek.

But the primary focus remained on Microsoft; Li Dongling and Dongling High-Tech were merely mentioned in passing, since Microsoft’s news was still more captivating.

Microsoft’s settlement with Dongling High-Tech signaled its stance; soon after, HP, Dell, and other companies announced they would continue cooperating with Microsoft, and the Microsoft-Intel alliance would remain active!

While the media and the public were still treating this as entertainment, Microsoft’s stock price surged dramatically; the shares it had lost in recent days rebounded almost instantly. The settlement payment to Dongling High-Tech had already been recouped by Microsoft over two hundred times over—compared to its stock price and market value, what did reputation matter?!

Inside Pixar Animation Studios, staff were busily working on “Toy Story,” set to premiere next year, aiming to become the world’s first fully 3D animated feature film.

In Pixar’s offices, bursts of shouting echoed periodically, after which several executives emerged, wiping sweat from their foreheads.

With the scheduled release date looming, Jobs remained dissatisfied with “Toy Story,” constantly demanding revisions, leaving Pixar’s managers and developers exhausted and tormented—they finally understood how the nickname “tyrant” had arisen within Apple.

Inside the office, only Jobs remained. He sighed deeply; he had placed immense hope in Pixar, otherwise he wouldn’t have cared so much. He viewed next year’s “Toy Story” as his “comeback” battle.

After leaving Apple, Jobs founded NeXT Systems and acquired the computer animation effects studio from Star Wars director Lucas, forming Pixar Studios.

Although NeXT stirred some interest, compared to Jobs’s time at Apple, its impact was merely modest.

Thus, Jobs now focused his energy on Pixar, hoping to turn things around through its animation—since leaving Apple, he had been too long in silence.

Picking up a newspaper, he smiled when he saw the news of Microsoft’s settlement and payment to Dongling High-Tech.

He clearly understood the underlying dynamics—why Microsoft had bowed—but as Bill Gates’s longtime rival, even though he was no longer at Apple, seeing Microsoft suffer a rare setback made him take a closer look at Dongling High-Tech.

As a perfectionist obsessed with detail, Jobs never believed in random coincidences. So many companies, including Apple, had failed to make Microsoft back down—yet this obscure overseas firm succeeded. Jobs refused to believe it was pure luck!

“Get me a mechanical silver mink mouse!” Jobs picked up the phone and called his assistant.

Like Jobs, many in America’s tech industry were watching Microsoft’s downfall as entertainment; now it had almost become a trend of “everyone cheering as Microsoft stumbles.”

Bai Wenxi was a reporter for Hong Kong’s Phoenix Television stationed in America. Among Chinese media in America, apart from state media, only Hong Kong outlets maintained a presence, because sending a full reporting team to America or Europe cost more than hiring ten or even dozens of reporters—smaller outlets simply couldn’t afford it.

After packing her gear and slinging her camera around her neck, she was about to leave to interview a Hong Kong celebrity arriving in America. Just as she was turning off the TV, an Asian face on screen caught her attention.

“Dongling High-Tech wins patent lawsuit against Microsoft!”

Watching Li Dongling on TV, Bai Wenxi—who had lived in America long enough to understand Microsoft’s dominance—gaped in shock. Then she snapped to attention: why report on some Hong Kong celebrity’s arrival when the far more astonishing story was an Eastern company defeating a Western tech giant? She knew reporting this back to Hong Kong would cause a sensation.

“Breaking news from our correspondent in America, Bai Wenxi: Today in New York, Dongling High-Tech of Hanxi reached a settlement with Microsoft in a patent lawsuit. Microsoft acknowledged Dongling High-Tech’s ownership of the mouse patent and paid an $18 million settlement. Dongling High-Tech has withdrawn all further lawsuits against Microsoft worldwide.”

“This marks the first time since the computer technology era that an Eastern company has defeated a Western tech giant…”

After the news segment and commercial break, Phoenix Television was scheduled to air a drama—but suddenly another news report appeared. Viewers who had just begun grumbling at the interruption froze in stunned silence after watching.

Hong Kong now has many “kings” across industries—Shipping King, Electronics King, Fan King, TV King—but no matter how famous or wealthy they were, their influence remained confined to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. The Pacific Ocean seemed an insurmountable barrier for these Hong Kong tycoons.

Especially in the electronics industry, Hong Kong companies understood this best: they mostly served as agents or contract manufacturers for Western firms. Facing technological and patent suppression, no matter how renowned, they could never break beyond Southeast Asia.

Yet now, a mainland company, thousands of miles away in America, defeated Microsoft—a company that, even within Western tech, held a dominant position. Even if this was merely a trivial mouse patent case to Microsoft, the shockwave it sent through Hong Kong was immense!

“Mouse King defeats Microsoft!”

Early the next morning, Hong Kong media began reporting, bestowing upon Li Dongling and Dongling High-Tech the title “Mouse King.”

Soon after, major Hong Kong outlets—including Oriental Daily, Sing Tao Daily, South China Morning Post, Ming Pao, and dozens of other newspapers and magazines—began covering the Dongling High-Tech story.

“Asia’s top tech company, Dongling High-Tech, wins patent lawsuit against Microsoft. Its Silver Mink mouse will become the world’s most popular mouse brand. Experts predict sales may exceed 500,000 units this year!”

“New-generation tech genius: Dongling High-Tech valued over HK$300 million. Li Dongling to join Asia’s elite billionaires!”

Compared to major papers, tabloids were far more sensational. Whether the facts were true didn’t matter; where the numbers came from didn’t matter—what mattered was grabbing attention. In these tabloid reports, the mechanical Silver Mink mouse was already sold out, even though it still sat untouched in warehouses in Yangcheng, never officially launched.

Dongling High-Tech’s valuation and Li Dongling’s personal fortune soared exponentially in these tabloid reports.

Yet no matter how outrageous the reporting, people still read and believed it. Even Chinese-language media in Singapore, Taiwan, Macau, Malaysia, and Siam began covering the story.

Whether in Hong Kong or the mainland, this was an era lacking confidence, yearning for heroes. Even without winning the lawsuit—merely securing a settlement—this was still seen as heroic, especially in the field where the West prided itself most.

News from Hong Kong first spread to Guangdong Province; that same day, the Yangcheng Evening News cited reports from Hong Kong TV channels and covered the case.

While most domestic media had yet to react and the tech industry hadn’t noticed, CCTV suddenly reported on the lawsuit in its news broadcast.