Welcome to Life Series. Following is Chapter 12 in our new Life Series blog, which explores the life story of Cetis Founder & CEO, Dr. Bing N. Sun.
Chapter 12 - Awakening A Lion.
Q: So 46 credit cards later, you had established Scitec as a viable hotel phone manufacturer, but didn't you encounter yet another challenge during that period?
A: Yes. In 1997, Teledex, LLC., the largest provider of hotel phones globally, filed a federal lawsuit against my company, claiming that our new Aegis Series products infringed upon their established phone designs. We had awakened a sleeping lion.
Q: Awakend a lion?
A: Yes, because of our early success, it seemed as if all the resources of the then industry leader had been raised up against us.
Q: For a new business funded with 46 personal credit cards, it must have been a big financial burden to defend yourself in a U.S. Federal court.
A: Yes! I was forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, airfares, and hotel expenses to travel back and forth from Champaign, Illinois to San Jose, California to defend our position in court.
Q: What was the outcome?
A: After spending 6 months in court and away from running my start-up company, I couldn't afford spending more money and time defending myself. Finally, I decided to settle the case.
Q: So you settled the case in court, but how did you fare in the hospitality marketplace.
A: Because hoteliers embraced our new products, sales continued to grow exponentially, and we were able to survive the challenge.
Q: What did you learn from this experience?
A: I learned the value of perseverance and thinking positive. Also, being sued by the largest player in our industry dramatically increased my self-confidence. It proved that I was doing something right and successful! And 11 years later, we successfully acquired the assets of Teledex, LLC. Today we manufacture, market, and support Teledex brand hotel phones globally.
A: Yes. In 1997, Teledex, LLC., the largest provider of hotel phones globally, filed a federal lawsuit against my company, claiming that our new Aegis Series products infringed upon their established phone designs. We had awakened a sleeping lion.
Q: Awakend a lion?
A: Yes, because of our early success, it seemed as if all the resources of the then industry leader had been raised up against us.
Q: For a new business funded with 46 personal credit cards, it must have been a big financial burden to defend yourself in a U.S. Federal court.
A: Yes! I was forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, airfares, and hotel expenses to travel back and forth from Champaign, Illinois to San Jose, California to defend our position in court.
Q: What was the outcome?
A: After spending 6 months in court and away from running my start-up company, I couldn't afford spending more money and time defending myself. Finally, I decided to settle the case.
Q: So you settled the case in court, but how did you fare in the hospitality marketplace.
A: Because hoteliers embraced our new products, sales continued to grow exponentially, and we were able to survive the challenge.
Q: What did you learn from this experience?
A: I learned the value of perseverance and thinking positive. Also, being sued by the largest player in our industry dramatically increased my self-confidence. It proved that I was doing something right and successful! And 11 years later, we successfully acquired the assets of Teledex, LLC. Today we manufacture, market, and support Teledex brand hotel phones globally.
Read all 18 Life Series chapters.
Click on the chapter links below to follow this remarkable life story in sequence. Click here to submit your comments directly to Dr. Sun. Thanks for reading. We look forward to hearing from you.
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11| Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 |Chapter 18
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