Chapter 3

At noon, I didn't go to work. Instead, I went to the local Intellectual Property Office.

After two hours of searching, I found the crucial information.

The seven patent licensing agreements listed "Trent Technologies" as the licensor.

But in the patent holder section, it clearly stated: Ethan.

This meant the company only had the right to operate and use the patents, but the ownership of the patents remained with me.

The agreement Trent had me sign back then only "licensed" the patents for the company's use.

And there was a clause in the licensing contract: the patent holder had the right to terminate the license at any time.

I hadn't even read it when I signed it years ago.

But now, this clause was my biggest trump card.

If I terminated the license, all of Trent Technologies' product lines would lose their technical foundation overnight.

$1.2 million in patent fees a year? They wouldn't get a single cent.

That afternoon, I visited a law firm, finding a lawyer who specialized in intellectual property.

"Adriana Hayes, what's the process if I want to terminate a patent license?"

Adriana Hayes reviewed the contract and nodded.

"According to Article 11 of the contract, the patent holder can terminate the licensing agreement with sixty days' written notice. The other party has no right of veto."

"So, I just need to send a lawyer's letter, and sixty days later, the company can't use my patents anymore?"

"Correct."

"Good."

I drafted the lawyer's letter, but I didn't send it immediately.

I would wait until all my chess pieces were in place before making my move.

Leaving the law firm, I stopped at an electronics store.

I bought a professional voice recorder, palm-sized, capable of continuous recording for seventy-two hours.

Back home, I slipped it into my shirt pocket.

From today on, I would record every word Trent and Kevin said.

The more arrogant they were, the better it would look in court later.

I didn't make a scene. I went to work and came home as usual every day, and I didn't even mention the new card again.

She thought I'd caved.

On the fifth day, she probed me, "Ethan, have you thought things through about that card?"

I sat on the sofa watching TV, not even looking up.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't understand business. Why bother messing around?"

She sighed in relief and smiled, sitting next to me.

"That's what you should have thought earlier. Just focus on your tech, I've got everything else handled."

I smiled, but said nothing.

She picked up her phone and walked onto the balcony to make a call.

I perked up my ears.

"Mm... don't worry, he hasn't done anything else... Right, he's just a naive academic; scare him a little, and he'll back down..."

Her voice drifted in intermittently with the breeze.

"When are you coming back from your business trip? I miss you..."

I gripped the remote control, my knuckles white, but my face showed nothing.

The voice recorder in my pocket quietly did its work.