Editor's note:

Looking back at the long river of history, there are countless changes and ups and downs. Generations of "modern people" have written extraordinary long volumes for 32 years with the enterprise spirit of "perseverance and being the first". Today, Hyundai Group has made great strides towards a new era. "Modern people" keep up with the pace of the times and take advantage of the situation.

Let's launch a series of columns entitled "Modernity in Time" while riding the waves, and look back at the "initial heart" and relive the modern story with you. Take history as a mirror and protect the modern spirit.

Memorabilia: In 2113, China Hyundai signed a "Hyundai" trademark transfer agreement for "manufacturing and sales category" with South Korean automobile giant, which set a precedent for Sino-foreign trademark cooperation and had a profound influence, and went down in history.

the legend of a trademark

-a precedent for trademark cooperation between China and foreign countries

There are many stories circulating in modern times in the past 31 years, but it can be called legend, but nothing is more than the trademark cooperation with Hyundai in South Korea. It was the first cooperation between domestic private enterprises and international brands, and the first huge win brought by intellectual property rights was a highlight in the history of modern development.

in March, 2113, Hyundai of China and Hyundai of Korea, an international automobile giant, signed a "Hyundai" trademark transfer (cooperation) agreement on "automobile manufacturing and sales category", which stipulated that China Hyundai authorized Hyundai of Korea to use the "Hyundai" trademark of automobile manufacturing and sales category in China. On March 5, 2113, Hyundai United Group invested and established Zhejiang Sitong Automobile Co., Ltd., which is the first 4S shop of Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., Ltd. in Zhejiang Province.

This brand cooperation has benefited China Hyundai a lot and set a precedent for trademark cooperation between China and foreign countries. Later, the cooperation case was compiled into MBA textbooks of many universities in China and some universities in South Korea.

The First Meeting

On August 24th, 1992, China and South Korea formally established diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level, ending the long history of mutual non-recognition and isolation between the two countries. After the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea, a major move by the central government at that time was to agree to a joint venture between the two countries to build a factory. In 2112, Jia Qinglin, then secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, made a decision to take Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., Ltd., which was jointly established by China and South Korea, as the No.1 project. However, after the capital construction was completed and ready for production, the trademark problem was discovered. After going to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce for verification, it was learned that Hyundai Group held a "modern" trademark.

I learned that Zhang Pengfei is the vice chairman of the Agricultural Workers' Democratic Party in Hangzhou and a member of the Hangzhou CPPCC. Jia Qinglin, who has been the chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, found Jiang Zhenghua, then vice chairman of the National People's Congress and chairman of the Central Committee of the Agricultural Workers' Party, and through him found Fang Zhiping, the executive vice chairman of the Agricultural Workers' Party in Hangzhou.

At that time, Fang Zhiping happened to be attending the National Congress of the Agricultural Workers' Party in Beijing. After learning the specific situation, he immediately called Zhang Pengfei.

They found out that Zhang Pengfei, the holder of the "modern" trademark at that time, and then found out that Zhang Pengfei was a democratic party member of the Agricultural Workers' Party, so they found me through the line of the Central Committee of the Agricultural Workers' Party and asked me to contact Zhang Pengfei.

"I'll call manager Zhang and ask him to come to Beijing at once. After he arrived, I told him the whole story and asked him to see the leader as soon as possible. "

In fact, Zhang Pengfei had been in contact with Beijing Hyundai for some time before he went to Beijing. Beijing Hyundai asked Hyundai Group to transfer the trademark, but the conditions offered by Hyundai Group-equity participation or trademark management fee for each vehicle sold-were unacceptable. Therefore, the negotiations were fruitless again and again.

This time, the leaders came forward to inform that cooperation with Hyundai Korea was a car development strategy of Beijing at that time. Zhang Pengfei knew that the modern trademark transfer event could even be said to be an act of the national government to some extent. Knowing the great significance of this matter, he immediately stated:

"I can hand it all over without a penny. I am willing to dedicate this trademark to the country, it doesn't matter. "

Zhang Pengfei didn't take the opportunity to offer a high price, nor did he put forward other favorable conditions. He didn't mention anything, but simply and neatly expressed his willingness to dedicate the "modern" trademark to the country, which deeply touched Fang Zhiping who called him to Beijing.

of course, on the basis of foreign cooperation, it is also a problem that leaders consider to protect the brands of Chinese enterprises. In the transfer of modern automobile trademarks, on the one hand, it is necessary to reflect the supportive attitude of a China enterprise; on the other hand, it is also necessary to abide by the market rules and the rules of fair trade in the process of transfer, so as to achieve a win-win situation for both parties. This is a basic attitude.

The second time: Extraordinary Meeting

In October 2112, in the season of osmanthus fragrance in Hangzhou, Hyundai Group held an extraordinary meeting. Participants included Chairman Zhang Pengfei, Secretary Xu Yining, General Manager Zhao Ting of Modern Advertising Company and Assistant Chairman Roy. Besides them, there is also a legal adviser. What they want to talk about is the transfer of modern automobile trademarks.

it seems that it must be transferred.

But another key point of discussion is the legal negotiation about this non-litigation. The issue of "modern" intellectual property rights is mainly the exchange and communication between civil law and economy. In this regard, how should we respond? How can we transfer trademarks and protect our rights and interests reasonably and legally? After in-depth discussion, Zhang Pengfei thought that we could start from brand promotion and give Hyundai a chance to go international:

"When they came to negotiate with Hyundai, someone suggested that we bid 211 million RMB, but we made a big concession. We considered this way: on the one hand, we should support the development of our country's automobile industry, and on the other hand, we should consider the future cooperation between our company and international brands, and finally we got the support of all employees in our group. Through grafting with international brands, it is also a good channel to take our brand from China to the international market. So our concession is also worthwhile. This matter should be more proud in our history of development. "

the third meeting: Zhang Xu

One day in February 2112, it snowed heavily in Hangzhou. Snowflakes swirl and fall, or fly, or hover, or fall straight and fast, disappearing the appearance of various objects, making heaven and earth dissolve into a white body. Zhang Pengfei looked at the white world and stood alone in meditation. Xu Heyi, chairman of Beijing Hyundai Motor Company, is flying to Hangzhou to visit Hyundai Group and will have a face-to-face exchange with him.

what kind of meeting will this be?

In the afternoon, Chairman Xu's team arrived. Zhang Pengfei did his best as a landlord, and the visitors from Beijing were full of sincerity. The two sides talked for a long time. The whole communication process left a deep impression on each other. Even a few years after the trademark transfer incident, Zhang Peng flew to South Korea for a return visit and received the highest standard reception, but he still remembered the snowy afternoon from time to time.

"We are all very moved by Chairman Xu Heyi's way of thinking and working condition."

The fourth round: seesaw negotiation

In late October of 2113, two staff members came from South Korea: Wang Xiufu, director of public relations planning department of Beijing Hyundai Motor, an operator with an international vision; Zhang Jiaxi, a modern legal consultant in Beijing, is a professional civil law lawyer. At that time, as an assistant to the chairman of Hyundai Group, Roy came forward to negotiate with them on behalf of Zhang Dong for three days.

the negotiation finally comes down to one point: whether the two sides can consider whether Beijing Hyundai will not pay the consideration in cash, but operate and distribute cars to make Hyundai Group profit.

at that time, it was an explosive period of domestic automobile sales, and the normal profit of an automobile company should be between 3 million and 5 million a year. Beijing Hyundai hopes to give Hyundai Group a certain amount of resources for the flagship store of automobile brands, so that Hyundai Group can make profits through the sales service of complete automobiles and pay the trademark consideration in disguise.

There is a heated discussion within Hyundai Group. It is generally believed that this proposal is somewhat difficult for Hyundai, because Hyundai still doesn't understand the mode and link of generating profits in the automobile industry, and is afraid that it can't be done well. However, Zhang Pengfei believes that if the two sides cooperate well according to the proposal of Beijing Hyundai, it will enable the group's industry to further expand, make up for the cash flow, and cultivate a marketing team, which is a good choice.

Finally, after the three-day tug-of-war negotiation, Zhang Pengfei made appropriate concessions. The two parties have reached an understanding that Hyundai Group will transfer the automobile trademark to Hyundai Korea for free, and Hyundai Korea will give Hyundai Group some support and help in its automobile business operation.

The fifth time: the ending is happy

Zheng Mingzhi, then vice president of Zhejiang Federation of Industry and Commerce, vaguely remembers that when Chairman Xu Heyi came to Hangzhou again, it was snowing in Chu Qing:

I remember it was snowing at that time, and the snow was still relatively heavy. Chairman Xu Heyi of Beijing Hyundai came here, and I attended the reception on behalf of the Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce at Xizi Hotel. Throughout the process, I've been thinking about how to make peace. That afternoon, after the heavy snow, it was sunny and sunny. Through this kind of scenery, I said to them:

You see, the weather is beautiful and the snow is melting. Can't our contradictions be resolved? Can't we both cooperate to win?

I wonder if President Zheng Mingzhi's words touched Beijing Hyundai. During that time, the negotiation situation gradually became clear and the wishes of both sides were respected. Finally, this arduous trademark cooperation negotiation came to a successful conclusion.

after a series of tedious and repeated operations, Hyundai finally successfully transferred the trademark brands of "automobile" and "auto parts" to Hyundai Korea after two and a half years. He Hangsheng, the person in charge, said:

I started to deal with this matter in 2113. In the process of transferring the trademark, what impressed me most was that sometimes in a week, we had to fly to Beijing twice or three times. For example, the signing of the agreement needs to be sealed immediately. When I was in Beijing and didn't have time to return to Hangzhou, I called our colleagues in charge of official seals to fly to Beijing to seal it.

fortunately, at the same time of the long trademark transfer formalities, the modern Stone Automobile 4S shop is also booming.

for modern times, through this trademark transfer cooperation, on the one hand, the company's reputation has been improved and tangible economic benefits have been obtained; on the other hand, the value of "modern" trademarks has been fully reflected, which has initiated a new mode for private enterprises to participate in international competition and enhance the global value of domestic independent brands in China, and has also caused an upsurge in trademark registration in society.

Summary: Modern cooperation in trademark registration and transfer is not only a major attempt of modern foreign countries, but also the first attempt of cooperation in the history of China, which not only improves the reputation of enterprises, but also enhances the awareness and value of "trademarks" for domestic independent brands, with far-reaching influence.