"Two million?"
The professor was pleasantly surprised. This figure had indeed exceeded his expectations!
In truth, his research into electro-optical instruments was quite superficial. He had been able to readily agree to Lin Qi taking on this project because he knew experts in the field.
In the scientific world, especially at the cutting edge of federal science, there were actually not many secrets.
Especially when it came to pure science.
For scientific progress to gain the world's recognition, relevant papers had to clearly explain one's discoveries and inventions, after which patents had to be registered.
The Federation's patent registration laws were not exactly the same as those of other countries or regions. In the Federation, one could even register a design and functional patent through a verbal description without having a sample with practical functions!
If someone took one step farther than others along the path of science but did not register a patent, that meant they could not publicize their research.
Yet experts in pure scientific research yearned for recognition from their field. It was not merely a matter of fame; it could also establish their standing in the industry and bring them incalculable wealth! Once they published a paper without registering a patent, a large number of patent trolls would soon begin probing around those new papers.
If they did not encounter any patent barriers, they would begin registering patents frantically. They would register countless patents ahead of the inventors, forming even stronger barriers, to the point that the inventors would later need authorization from those patent trolls to use their own inventions!
That was the Federation's law. It was not very... reasonable in many situations, but at least it relatively speaking took many people's interests into account.
Thus, scientific progress in the Federation was extremely evident. Papers