Chapter 3 - The Architect of Salvatierra BioMedJudge Aranda called for a brief five-minute recess to review the preliminary medical evidence, but no one left the room. The atmosphere crackled with tension. Reporters whispered frantically among themselves, their tablets buzzing with live updates being beamed across newsrooms in Polanco, Reforma, and Iztapalapa.
When the judge returned, he bypassed the medical files and turned straight to Tab Two.
—Mr. Lira, let us move to the corporate assets. Mr. Salvatierra’s defense rests entirely on the premise that Salvatierra BioMed is solely his creation and property. What does Tab Two demonstrate?
Esteban stood up, adjusting his thin-rimmed glasses.
—Your Honor, my client, Claudia Rivera, graduated top of her class in Biomedical Engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She is not, as Mr. Salvatierra claimed, an uneducated woman incapable of running a business. In fact, she is the sole holder of the original patents for the micro-infusion pumps that made Salvatierra BioMed a multi-million-peso enterprise.
A collective gasp echoed through the gallery. Doña Elvira let out a sharp, indignant hiss.
—Lies! My son financed that company! She was just a housewife supported by our family name! —Elvira cried out, forgetting courtroom decorum.
—Quiet in the gallery! —Judge Aranda warned, banging his gavel once. He turned back to Esteban.—Proceed, counselor.
—With pleasure, Your Honor. Tab Two contains the original incorporation documents filed eleven years ago. While Mr. Salvatierra provided the initial seed capital—which, as forensic accounting in Tab Three will prove, was actually embezzled from a previous partnership—the intellectual property, the laboratory formulas, and the regulatory approvals from Cofepris were all registered under Mrs. Rivera’s maiden name. Two years ago, under severe emotional distress and coercion, my client was forced to sign a power of attorney transferring operational control. However, the foundational patents were never legally transferred. They cannot be.
Claudia watched Julián’s face drain of all color. The man who had mocked her minutes ago, who had gloated about leaving her without a roof over her head, suddenly looked like a small, cornered animal.
May you like
—You can't do this... —Julián muttered, staring at his own legal counsel. —Do something! Tell them!
His lawyer shook his head slowly, sliding a stack of papers away from himself. —Mr. Salvatierra, you never told me about the patent registrations. If what the plaintiff's counsel is saying is true, you don't own the company. You've been operating on stolen IP.
Related Stories
