Greetings, Mister Principal

Chapter 12: Patents

Chapter 12: Patents

"Cola."

Reiner answered truthfully.

"This is a brand new drink developed by Luna Nova Magical Academy. Mr. Antoine, after experiencing it yourself, do you think this drink will be popular?"

"This... at least I will pay for it."

Antoine nodded. This drink was really magical and seemed to be addictive. If there were proper publicity and channels, it would surely be able to sell.

"That's enough to prove it. Our purpose is very simple. Mr. Antoine, we hope to entrust you to produce this beverage and sell it. We will give you a certain share based on the profit. Of course, we will pay the initial investment in advance, so you can develop production equipment."

According to the information Reiner learned, a conventional alchemy workshop could produce two hundred bottles of Cola every day after setting up the production magic circle. Although the amount was not large, it was enough to meet the demand in the initial stage.

Moreover, no matter how dilapidated Antoine Alchemy Workshop was, he previously had a certain sales network. The stores he worked with may be nearby pharmacies or small shops.

You have to know that, finding a stable supplier of alchemical products was something that every store needed to do. Antoine Alchemy Workshop was able to remain open for so many years, it must be because of the help of some regular customers.

"Produce?"

Antoine looked carefully at the drink in his hand and fell into thinking.

He often received similar orders in the past, and the other party gave them the commissioned production of the recipe, but most of them were ordinary alchemical products. However, the drink in front of him was quite mysterious. Would the other party really trust him?

"Do you have a patent for this thing?"

After thinking about it, Antoine asked.

Although he shut himself away from the world, Antoine still knew that Luna Nova Magical Academy was not doing well recently. Since they were looking for their own beverage production, it could mean that they were trying to make money to subsidize the school expenses.

In this world, most inventions would be patented at the Magic Association, just like theses. If others want to use them, they must reach an agreement with the patent holder and pay related fees. If someone violated, the patent holder could ask for a huge compensation through Arbitration.

There have been several famous cases in the past, and the final compensation amounts were staggering.

So Antoine asked, wanting to confirm whether this thing belonged to Luna Nova Magical Academy.

"Not yet, and I don't plan to apply for a patent. But I am going to apply for a trade secret for this drink called Cola."

Reiner's reply shocked Claire and Antoine.

"Wait, wait, you haven't said this before."

Claire was a little panicked. She originally thought Reiner would apply for a patent and then mass produce it, but now according to his intentions, it seemed like he didn't have such a plan?

Claire was naturally clear about the concept of trade secrets. Just like the magic of mages, if it was submitted to the Magic Association, it was equivalent to applying for a patent. If other mages wanted to learn, they needed to pay the creator, but the model of the spell had to be made public.

There were also mages who chose not to submit spells to the Magic Association, so this spell would naturally not be protected. However, if other people used some means to steal or secretly learned the spell, then the creator would not be able to do anything. But normally, it was much better this way.

Of course, trade secrets would also be protected. If someone tried to steal, they would naturally be punished, and the holder did not need to disclose it, and as long as the holder or agent was still alive, then the secret would always be protected.

"I checked the relevant laws. If you apply for a patent, then the cola formula will need to be made public. At the same time, the validity period of this patent is only one hundred years. If it is replaced by a trade secret, it is indefinite and the formula can remain secret."

Reiner explained calmly, but this reason obviously couldn't convince the two of them.

"But the formula of this thing is not difficult. If the paper is published, everyone can copy it. What good is it to keep it a secret?"

Claire said. Before coming here, Reiner had already sent the paper. He would get a reply in three days at the latest, and the paper would also be available for reference in the library of the Magic Association.

In other words, the existence of that mysterious gas and the method of preparation would no longer be a secret.

"I also think Little Claire is right. What if someone else is making it?"

Antoine asked, but these questions did not stump Reiner in the slightest.

"I don't think you guys understand what brand value is."

Reiner thought for a while and took out the most classic marketing theory on earth.

"If we disclose the formula, everyone can drink the same cola prepared according to the formula. Naturally, some people will use lower prices or other means to compete with us, but if we hide the formula, even if others were able to figure out the ingredients and make the same drink, as long as we don't admit it, then it will never be 'Cola', do you understand?"

After listening to Reiner's words, the two people were silent.

Claire only considered legal supervision before, but did not realize the nature of Cola as a commodity. For the commodity, the formula should be the biggest secret. Only after listening to Reiner's words, did she suddenly realize that and then soon, she remembered that the principal was originally the son of a tycoon, so he must be proficient in this aspect of operations.

These merchants were so cunning!

Antoine admired the vision of the man in front of him. The product was not yet on the shelves, but he had already considered what his competitors would do and had relatively safe countermeasures, not to mention the ability to develop this very attractive drink. Who was he really?

Reiner did not think that the business people in this world were stupid. The primary commodity economy has begun to take shape, and even due to the convenience of transportation, cross-continental trade has already appeared. Many regions have transformed from a self-sufficient agricultural economy to a commodity economy that leveraged location advantages.

Large businesses would steal secret recipes or purchase patents, and then rely on capital reserves to fight price wars to crush small businesses and occupy the market. This method was nothing new. Even Ian Gray's family was quite good at this. But in Reiner's view, these methods were too immature.

On the earth, the flavor of cola was naturally unique, but it was the special marketing method that really made it popular in the world. And Reiner from the earth could think of several familiar marketing cases from memory alone. One of them, he was ready to apply it to the promotion of Cola.

"Mr. Antoine, I think you can look at the bottle cap in your hand."

Reiner said, making Antoine look at the bottle cap with a puzzled face, and Claire, who was confused, also curiously leaned over.

There was a phrase that was engraved on the cap of the small bottle. It was shone with a metallic luster.

"Another bottle"