"Eighty million?" Jim looked at Robert Morley with incredulity in his eyes: "Eighty fucking million? Are you sure it wasn't you who accidentally wrote an extra zero when you were recording? And there is also a 30% stake? ”

Robert Morley looked directly at his old friend for many years and shook his head slightly: "In addition to giving this absolutely impossible condition, the other party also revealed some news vaguely. ”

Jim narrowed his eyes slightly, as if sensing the danger coming, "Hopefully it's not what I thought of, the news about Lotus Corporation." ”

Delia said they received a copy from an anonymous employee of Lotus who has a sense of justice, including some of Lotus' software development logs and update plans. Robert took off his glasses, lowered his head and wiped them slowly, avoiding direct gaze from Jim, and said:

"The other party can provide some data for us to verify, but refuse to provide more details, the constitution protects citizens' right to privacy, and only when the court is actually in session, can the court person get the authorization to disclose his identity with the consent of the anonymous person."

Jim grabbed his crotch with his hand, made a pained expression, and then slammed his fist on the table: "Congratulations Actor, for successfully holding the Lotus balls!" Forced Lotus to shelve the update and subsequent development progress and public ...... F*ck！ I can't go on! I told those idiots to take precautions! Nerd engineers don't fucking sell out the company? ”

"Want to hear more exciting news?" Robert bowed his head and said to Jim, "I got the news through my contacts in the courthouse that while the Actor Company was settling with us, the court received one hundred and seventy-six amicus curiae documents, all of which were non-profit legal advocacy organizations, and they not only supported the Actor, but also asked the court to expedite the case. ”

Jim's eyes widened and he stared at Robert: "Fifteen politicians against one hundred and seventy-six non-profit organizations, you know with your ass, if my fifteen politician friends get this news after they submit the intervention papers, they will greet me with all kinds of indescribable words, this hand is so beautiful, I fucking thank Actor for showing mercy to my men and saving my own eggs, but at the same time, it also means that no politician wants to accept Lotus's lobbying and PR again, Unless he doesn't realize the consequences of being targeted by one hundred and seventy-six non-profit organizations. ”

Robert sighed: "The other party is open, and bet all the chips, either pay them eighty million and 30%, or wait for the other party to counterclaim, and then ......"

"The big companies that aren't idiots in the software industry just had the opportunity to stand across from Lotus and shred it apart." Jim didn't need Robert to remind him, and said to himself:

"One hundred and seventy-six non-profit organizations, at least we know that the other party is not the bait of a large company, but has designed this trap by itself, as long as the stupid* falls in, it will definitely not be able to get out without being bitten by it and a big piece of fat."

The United States seems to have various clauses for the intellectual property rights and patent protection of the computer industry, but in fact it is only at the state level, and all the current lawsuits against patents or intellectual property rights in the computer industry rely on the laws of the states, or the Supreme Court uses the precedents of intellectual property laws and similar judgments as the main basis, and the other party will definitely rely on the huge power accumulated behind it to appeal the case to the Supreme Court, and rely on its influence to get precedents. Because the states may have their own patent laws, but not at the federal level, you know what I mean? This case must be enough to be cited the most by software industry predators and the U.S. Congress in the next five to ten years. Robert Morley rubbed his eyebrows, put his glasses back on his face, and looked up to Jim.

Jim picked up the water glass, took a big sip, and said after drinking: "Because of this precedent, the computer software industry has issued relevant legal provisions?" ”

"More than that, Jim, I'm here to tell you what it means, it means that the U.S. Congress has another subdivision of patent law regulation for the states, and this regulatory power will be there until the specific law is introduced, and to put it bluntly, this is a lawsuit that both the big companies in the industry and the members of Congress like to see, which means that Congress and the Supreme Court can use this precedent to tell the states that there is room for your state's patent laws to be supplemented, and who is going to do that? Of course, it's Congress, and then it's that software companies don't have to think about state laws on patents and the like, because it's not complete enough, and Congress is responsible for formulating this standard, before the law is introduced, if you encounter a similar lawsuit, you just need to take the money to find a lobbying company to find a congressman to help you stand up, the standard can be introduced first, but the specific legal provisions, I guess it won't appear in five to ten years, and the congressmen don't take the opportunity to use the regulatory power to make enough benefits, so they are not interested in introducing laws, industry giants, Members of Congress will be grateful to Actor, Inc., which has successfully helped the real predators of the industry with the Lotus sacrifice, to open a way to make peace with politicians and take advantage of the opportunity to expand aggressively, at least until the law is introduced, and the power of Congress, the power given to Congress by the U.S. Constitution, is supreme over the laws of the states. Robert explains to Jim why he can now assume that the case must be a historic precedent:

"Use the influence of non-profit organizations to get the case to the Supreme Court, and then the case will naturally appear on the table of the members of Congress, and they will be able to smell blood and money ink with a keen sense of smell at a glance, and then the giants of the software industry will definitely step in this case, because Actor has helped light the way to a better future by stepping on the corpse of Lotus."

Jim put down the glass of water in his hand, looked at the layout of Robert's office, and had an excited expression on his face: "Except for the victim, everyone is on his side, this is a cleverly conceived high-IQ robbery, either pay the money obediently, or the murderer sends the victim to the gallows, just half a year after coming out of McKinsey, I met three young geniuses, but Mickey and Jonathan were two computer geniuses who were still typing code in the garage last year, and this year is a billionaire computer genius, and this one is called Tommy Hawke, It's a genius business robber who robs homes. ”

After saying that, he stood up and put on his blazer: "I'll go back to meet Mitch and Jonathan and tell them to be ready to accept the reconciliation." ”

"Those two...... Would a tech-savvy genius engineer agree? Robert asked curiously.

"Of course I would agree, buy the Actor for 80 million, and if we repackage it, we can let it help us use this trick against other companies, and then we will gain more." Jim said affirmatively:

"If they don't object, I even want them to buy Tommy Hawke, the real man behind it, with a 30% stake."

……

"I disagree!" Jonathan, the CTO and co-founder of Lotus, said angrily: "They copied us and blackmailed us, and you, as our VP of Commercial, actually suggested that the company obediently pay those blackmailers?!" ”

Jim didn't have any excited expression on his face at this time, just looked at Jonathan who questioned him calmly, and didn't have the excitement of just coming back and telling the two about the whole case, Tommy Hawke's excitement about all his means, because after he finished explaining, Jonathan, a fool, was still angry, which made Jim completely unaware of what he was angry about?

The two of them should be as excited and fiery as they are, and quickly decide to buy the Actor Corporation, and then use this trick against other companies to make more money.

At this time, the performance of these two nerds made Jim have a result in his heart, that is, they don't believe in themselves at all, feel that they are making a fuss and exaggerating the threat, so as to show their importance in the company, it doesn't matter, anyway, they have given the advice they can give, if they are willing to go to the gallows, Jim certainly respects their choice.

But seeing Jonathan glaring at him fiercely, waiting for his response, Jim could only say in a calm tone:

"That's right, this is the business world, there is no law and the concept of good and evil, every company can be a murderer, every company can be a lamb, but this time the lamb is Lotus, but I think 80 million bought the Actor company, no problem, I said it very clearly, Jonathan, Robert has enough detailed information, we don't have a chance, the other party is a robber who silently wipes the dagger in the dark, observes us for a long time, and then suddenly appears in front of us, puts the dagger against our throat, and tells usEither he obediently pays, or he kills Lotus in the name of eliminating harm for the people, and the ignorant bystanders will only applaud, and the other participants in the darkness will take the opportunity to amass wealth. ”

"Even if we lose, Lotus won't die, Mitch, do you believe Jim? If Lotus doesn't agree, it will end up closing its doors or losing a lot of money. Jonathan turned his head to look at his companion Mitch, his tone full of disdain for Jim.

"The industry standard bypasses the various products launched by Lotus now and in the future, in commercial activities, this behavior is called the walled garden, no matter how big the company, when it is free from the industry ecological environment and standards, it is just a small island, because it is incompatible with each other, there is no interoperability, Lotus company can receive countless lawyers' letters from other companies every time it is updated, reminding Lotus that if they dare to find a little bit of problems involving industry patents, You're just waiting to be besieged again. Jim bit the straw and took a hard sip of Coke:

"The end result was that if Lotus wanted to continue to make money in the software industry, it would have to spend more money to break down the walls of the garden, and I think Lotus would have paid far more than $80 million at that time."

Jonathan sneered and looked at Jim: "Jim, you know, what you say is bullshit!" You're the same person as that bastard at Actor, and you think that people like us who only know technology and only know how to read can be easily scared, and if we just say a few words to us, we'll be terrified and throw out the money to avoid being tortured, but I tell you, it won't happen again! I have tens of millions on my bank account, but I will never pay a penny to blackmailers like you! ”

"What do you think? Mickey? Jim bit the straw and rolled his eyes to look at Mitch Kapoor, who hadn't said anything before.

"Jim, why don't you take a vacation and rest......" Mitch listened to the two of them without speaking, and when he heard Jonathan tear his face, he could only raise his head and sigh and say to Jim Manz.

Jim snuffed out the small flame of hope in his heart, and interrupted Mitch Kapoor in a crisp tone: "Forget it, Mitch, I don't need to take a vacation, I resign, I guess since you can say let me take a vacation, prove that you have found someone who can replace me, it's a pity that I haven't been able to work at Lotus for a full year and get the shares you promised, it's not your fault, only Tommy Hawke is to blame for doing it too early, that's all." ”

"Jim, if you're willing to help ......" Mitch pursed his lips and smiled politely, trying to keep the VP he had invited.

"No ifs, I can't fucking lose fifteen politician friends to this shit lawsuit! Got it! No matter how much money I have, I won't give up those connections. Jim took two steps out the door, then turned around and walked briskly to the desk, clutching the table and glaring at Mickey:

"You said you trusted me before the! That's your trust! Between me and your stupid* companion! Always choose that stupid*! ”

After scolding, he took a few deep breaths: "Well, at least before I leave, I should always tell me who will take over my work." ”

"A graduate of Harvard Business School, Byron Kennedy, who previously worked at Goldman Sachs and IBM." Mitch says to Jim Manz: "Jim, we appreciate your ......"

"Don't be grateful to me, remember my last advice to you, and hurry up and write a will for Lotus! The waste who was supported by Goldman Sachs with a high salary by relying on the name of the Kennedy family, and who was in charge of public relations when necessary, could not do anything, although the congressmen were all fools, but this time they would not pay attention to his public relations, after all, no matter how stupid they were, they still knew that they would make money once or five to ten years. Jim strode out the door without stopping:

"The ship is sinking, goodbye."

The second more

(End of chapter)