Chapter 323 Counterattack (Two in One)

"What the hell?"

"Are we maliciously competing?"

"This Virginia is so weird."

Fang Zhuo was sitting in a conference room in New York, holding the product sales ban issued by Virginia, and was extremely surprised.

The conference room was full, with legal affairs, lawyers, and executives gathered together.

Yu Hong looked very bad, and said depressedly: "The ban in Virginia has come into effect, and our products are gradually being removed from the shelves."

Fang Zhuo thought about it. Virginia is not a key area for Yike M1 and P1, but this ban that directly removes products from the shelves is a very bad start.

He glanced at the people in the conference room, waved his hand, and indicated that the originally scheduled meeting was temporarily postponed.

After a while, only the marketing director Yu Hong and the Cadwalader law firm team who were invited to the conference room were left in the conference room.

Fang Zhuo wanted to listen to the opinions of professionals. He politely asked Martin, a lawyer who had a good cooperation in the acquisition of Sina: "Why does Virginia ban our products?"

Martin did not speak, and signaled the younger lawyer next to him to explain for him.

"The sales ban came from the state court in Virginia. Apple sued Yike for malicious competition, including but not limited to the disruption of market order and unfair competition by iMusic, M1, and P1."

"The provisions adopted by the state court are mainly the Clayton Act."

"Mr. Fang, one of the meanings of the Clayton Act is to prevent damage, that is, if you reasonably foresee that your behavior may cause damage to competition, even if it has not yet caused damage, it is illegal."

"In addition, considering that the models M1 and P1 have subsidies for export through China, they directly implement price discrimination against buyers of the same grade and quality products in Virginia, hindering normal competition."

The young lawyer gave a familiar explanation.

Fang Zhuo listened carefully throughout the lecture, but his mind was still a little confused. He couldn't help asking: "Two questions, prevent damage? Is it illegal even if there is no damage yet? Who defines this behavior?"

"Also, I sell things cheaply, is this price discrimination against buyers? Do they deserve to buy expensive things?"

The young lawyer shrugged: "The definition of behavior comes from professionals. As for who the state court thinks is professional, this is worth studying."

Martin, the lawyer next to him, said in Chinese happily: "Fang, to facilitate your understanding, I remember that China has a word "falsely accused". You can also understand that for the long-term benefit, the current competitive behavior must be stopped. We must protect those short-sighted people."

Fang Zhuo rolled his eyes. This sounds like there is a lot of room for maneuver.

"We believe that the trial courts in Virginia have problems with this ban. We can appeal to the appellate courts. At that time, at least three judges can participate in the review and make a ruling on the ban."

"Fang, don't worry, this ban is likely to be overturned. We are confident."

Martin, the lawyer, said easily.

Fang Zhuo pointed out the problem: "Martin, how long will this process last? We are now competing with Apple for customers. When the ban is lifted, will the market in this state already be occupied by Apple?"

Martin asked curiously: "Your product prices are very competitive. Unless Apple cuts prices significantly, and your software users will not change their phones in the short term, the impact of this ban should be limited."

Fang Zhuo and Yu Hong looked at each other.

This is the problem.

Yike's contact with music copyright companies has always been carried out in secret, but it is hard to say whether music companies are willing to keep it secret.

If there is only one company, it's okay. If there are competitors, music companies will definitely be happy to see higher bids.

Just talking about Virginia, if Apple completes the music licensing first and attracts users to use more convenient and cheap music download services, it may form a moat and usage inertia in a short time.

The competition method will not come one by one. Various other means will be used in a multi-pronged manner, which may be a thorough and beautiful market counterattack.

"We have a very important business cooperation in the future, and this ban may have an extremely bad negative impact." Fang Zhuo said tactfully.

Martin understood and said seriously: "Apple is using time to trade space."

"So, we need to cancel this ban quickly, and we must also prevent other states from following up with such malicious methods." Fang Zhuo expressed his attitude.

Martin became serious. This was a bit difficult to handle. Appeals take time, and so do trials and rulings. Competitors are not just for a simple ban, and it is easy to affect the time schedule.

He quickly discussed countermeasures with the team.

After a long time, the discussion gradually subsided.

Fang Zhuo and Yu Hong also stopped communicating when they saw this.

Martin raised three fingers.

"Three methods?" Fang Zhuo was ready to listen attentively.

Martin nodded: "One, three hundred thousand dollars, two, two hundred thousand dollars, three, one hundred thousand dollars."

Yu Hong: "..."

Fang Zhuo understood that these were the attorney fees for different plans.

The average annual income of lawyers in the United States is only about one hundred thousand, and this asking price is already quite high.

The previous Sina acquisition case was a long-term cooperation with Cadwalader Law Firm, and a single lawyer fee of 150,000 was paid, and various business trip expenses were also included.

Even with the current quotation, the additional expenses added up are still quite staggering.

Fang Zhuo's expression did not change and he motioned to the lawyer to explain the difference.

"For one hundred thousand dollars, we are considering appealing to lift the sales ban in Virginia as soon as possible."

"Two hundred thousand dollars, we believe that simply starting from the Clayton Act is not enough. Although state courts and federal courts have no affiliation, the Supreme Court of the federal courts draws from tens of thousands of case applications every year. Eighty cases are tried, which is a legal interpretation based on precedent.”

"This case not only involves Virginia, but also has many products sold in other states, and you are coming from overseas. I think it can be used as a model."

"As for the three hundred thousand dollars, Fang, I have taken into account the actual situation of your company. Whether it is appeal ruling or case operation, there may be some uncertainty at this time."

Martin's face was full of sincerity: "Since Apple has taken this approach in Virginia, we can also find areas where we can influence and accuse the other party of unfair competition."

"This kind of complaint does not necessarily lead to an injunction. It can be used to negotiate and settle with Apple, so that you can still compete in the market."

"In addition, considering the nature of Yike Company, in order to ensure the effect, we may have to seek public support from state legislators during the contact process."

“This support includes, but is not limited to, providing jobs, political donations, etc.”

Martin finished speaking in one breath, waiting for Fang Zhuo's decision.

Three hundred thousand dollars is just a small amount, and expenses such as providing jobs far exceed legal fees.

Yu Hong, who was standing next to her, frowned and said, "From the inexplicable damage prevention in the Clayton Act to the various requirements, is this really not blackmail?"

Martin smiled: "Yu, this is not blackmail, this is reciprocity."

"After this, the money we earned will be returned to us?" Yu Hong said.

"No, no, no, for example, to provide jobs, you can reach an agreement with the state government first. The actual start of construction and whether to start construction will depend on the situation." Martin said slowly, "As long as the goal is achieved in a short time, you can weigh the long-term impact. We can make up for it later.”

He added: "This will have faster results. State legislators only need to protect the interests of local voters. We can even quickly apply for a counter-injunction on the grounds that Apple's unfair competition has hindered the cooperation between Yike and the state government." ”

Fang Zhuo spoke: "Martin, you also know the situation of our company. I trust you and the Cadwalader Law Firm very much. I still hope to reduce the additional costs as much as possible during this 300,000 yuan process."

Martin said naturally: "That's for sure, our lawyers will not let you spend money and suffer more losses."

"Then I will hold another meeting to discuss it. After all, the company does not belong to me alone. I will give you an answer tomorrow at the latest." Fang Zhuo continued, "You first go to the Virginia Court of Appeals to appeal. This is what must be done. ”

"No problem." Martin stood up with the lawyers. He shook hands with Fang Zhuo, "I hope Yike can solve this problem smoothly."

"Me too."

Fang Zhuo sent the lawyers out.

When he returned to the conference room, he immediately told Yu Hong: "Xiao Yu, please contact other law firms to see if there is a better solution."

"...Yeah." Yu Hong nodded and went to the office to contact him.

Fang Zhuo did not wait for her results, but directly held a meeting to hear the company's internal evaluation of the Virginia ban, and learned more details.

Apple is very dissatisfied with the delays experienced in its previous acquisition of Yike, and believes that Yike's behavior during this period of vigorously seizing the market and announcing the collapse of the acquisition is extremely despicable.

Then came Virginia’s rather sudden ban.

Currently, large channels including Wal-Mart and Kroger are enforcing the state court's injunction, while other small channels have not taken any action for the time being.

Online Amazon is not affected, nor is the use of iMusic.

The goal of this ban is likely to be to compete for the market in the field of music copyright, and it is not ruled out that Apple will continue to follow suit in other states.

The atmosphere in the conference room was quite intense, and everyone was condemning Apple's unconventional competitive methods.

Fang Zhuo let the group of people release their emotions for a while and knocked on the table: "Don't think too much about what happened. The important thing is how to deal with it."

"What's the difference between routine and irregularity? If the company doesn't survive this time, at most it will be mentioned in a business competition case for a few comments in a few years."

"Don't be too pessimistic. Our best market is in New York, in New York state."

"Why didn't Apple choose New York state? Why didn't it attack our best market?"

"It shows that their influence also has scope."

Fang Zhuo was extremely calm and said: "I have negotiated with the law firm on the legal level and will launch a tit-for-tat counterattack. Your current task is to ensure the stability of our market."

He expressed his opinion: "Why is Apple doing this? This shows that they cannot provide higher competitiveness purely from market competition."

"The better our market is, the more anxious Apple will be."

"The more urgent Apple is, the more we at Yike will bring high-quality and affordable products to the American people."

Facts have proven that the American people are also very concerned about the price factor of products. When products of the same quality and function are put together, they vote with their wallets.

Yi Ke is to benefit the simple American people and let them enjoy high-quality and low-priced products and services.

This is also the secret of "Made in China" that has gradually appeared in major American stores.

The excitement in the conference room was calmed down a lot.

As the saying goes, a bad soldier will make a bad general.

The boss was so calm that it significantly affected the emotions of the employees. The ban from Virginia was bad news, but it was not as bad as the worst.

The most important thing is that Yi Ke has money in its account. With 24 million US dollars raised by five institutions, it can mobilize lawyers, urge congressmen, and mobilize the court.

The emotions of Yi Ke's overseas team were calmed down, and the work content was also divided and arranged in an orderly manner.

When Yu Hong came back, there were only a few people left in the conference room.

"Xiao Yu, how is it?" Fang Zhuo asked.

"The contact is also a famous law firm, the price is higher, and the method does not sound as detailed and reliable as Martin and others said." Yu Hong replied.

Fang Zhuo nodded, so there is no need to compare.

He motioned the marketing director to sit down and continue the meeting.

"I don't think there is any doubt. Apple is definitely targeting music copyright."

"Moreover, Virginia does not prohibit the use of iMusic. We must reach a copyright cooperation as soon as possible to fundamentally frustrate Apple's intention."

Fang Zhuo thought and said, "This step is a closed leap from hardware profit to software profit. It is nothing more than Apple's means to do this. The so-called breakdown of negotiations before is just a cover-up."

"They are likely to step up negotiations on copyright cooperation."

All the senior executives in the conference room nodded and agreed with this judgment.

As for the company's cooperation in music copyright, although the discussion was a bit difficult, progress was also slowly advancing.

Yike mainly contacted two music copyright organizations.

One is ASCAP, the full name of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, which is the largest copyright fee management organization in the United States.

The other is SESAC, the full name of the European Society of Dramatists and Composers. Although the name is European, it is actually an American organization with relatively famous artists.

"It was Mr. Fang who personally came to promote the negotiations. Although the progress is being made, there are still differences on many issues." Jackson, a senior executive in the United States, spoke up.

"Well, I'm here to promote this matter." Fang Zhuo didn't care whether he had time difference or not, "Let's meet with ASCAP people tomorrow, and you can study the small details that can be compromised tonight."

"Now we have to be quick, quick, quick, understand?"

Fang Zhuo raised his voice and glanced at the senior executives of Yike Overseas.

"Understood!"

A firm voice rang out in the conference room, and the panic atmosphere was cleared.