Reinventing the Millennium.

Chapter 322 Countermeasure (Two in One)

"What the hell?"

"Are we viciously competing?"

"This Virginia state is inexplicable."

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

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

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

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

He glanced at the people in the conference room, waved his hand, and signaled that the scheduled meeting would be temporarily postponed.

After a while, only Marketing Director Yu Hong and the Cadwalader Law Firm team were left in the conference room.

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

Martin didn't speak, and motioned to the younger lawyer next to him to explain for him.

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

"The provisions adopted by the state courts were primarily the Clayton Act."

"Mr. Fang, one of the meanings of the "Clayton Act" is to prevent damage. It is to reasonably foresee that you may cause damage to competition. Even if there is no damage now, it is illegal."

"In addition, considering that the models M1 and P1 have been exported through China, they have directly implemented price discrimination against buyers of goods of the same grade and quality in Virginia, hindering normal competition."

The young lawyer gave an explanation familiarly.

Fang Zhuo listened carefully the whole time, but his mind was still a little confused, so he couldn't help asking: "Two questions, to prevent damage? It is illegal even if there is no damage? Who defines this behavior?"

"Also, my stuff is cheap. 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, it is worth looking into."

Barrister Martin next to him cheerfully said in Chinese: "Fang, for your convenience, I remember that Huaxia has a word 'unnecessary'. You can also understand that for the sake of long-term interests, we must stop the current competitive behavior. To protect those short-sighted people."

Fang Zhuo rolled his eyes, this sounds like a lot of room for manipulation.

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

"Fang, don't worry, there is a high probability that this ban will be overturned, we are confident."

Barrister Martin 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, is the market in this state already occupied by Apple?"

Martin asked strangely: "The price of your products is very competitive, unless Apple lowers the price a lot, 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 where the problem lies.

Yi Ke's contact with the music copyright company has been done in secret, but it's hard to say whether the music company is willing to keep it secret.

If only one company is okay and there are competitors, the music companies will certainly be happy to see a higher bid.

In Virginia alone, if Apple completes music licensing first and attracts users to use more convenient and cheap music download services, it may form a moat and use inertia in a short period of time.

The way of competition will not come one by one, and various other means of multi-pronged approach may be a thorough and beautiful market counterattack.

"We have a very important business cooperation in the future, and this ban may cause extremely bad negative effects." Fang Zhuo said euphemistically.

Martin understood, and said seriously: "Apple is trading time for space."

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

Martin got serious, this is a bit difficult to deal with, the appeal takes time, and the trial ruling also needs, the competitor is not just for a simple ban, it is easy to affect the time schedule.

He quickly discussed the countermeasures with the team.

After a long time, the discussion gradually subsided.

Seeing this, Fang Zhuo and Yu Hong also stopped communicating.

Martin held up three fingers.

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

Martin nodded: "One, $30, two, $20, three, $[-]."

Yu Hong: "..."

Fang Zhuo understood that it was a lawyer's fee for a different plan.

The average annual income of lawyers in the United States is only about [-] yuan, which is already quite high.

In the previous Sina acquisition case, it reached a long-term cooperation with Cadwalader Law Firm, and paid 15 yuan in legal fees alone, and included various travel expenses.

With such a quotation now, the addition of more additional expenses in it is quite amazing.

Fang Zhuo's expression didn't change, and he motioned to the lawyer to explain the difference.

"One hundred thousand dollars, we consider an appeal as soon as possible to cancel the sales ban in Virginia."

"U.S. $20, we believe that it is not enough to simply start from the "Clayton Act". Although the state court and the federal court have no affiliation, the Supreme Court of the federal court draws eight out of tens of thousands of cases each year. Ten cases will be tried, which is a legal interpretation based on precedent."

"This case not only involves Virginia, but also many products sold in other states, and you are coming in from overseas. I think it is hopeful to be a typical case."

"As for the $30, Fang, I'm considering your company's actual situation, whether it's the appeal ruling or the operation of the case, I'm afraid there will be some uncertainty at this time."

Martin's face was full of sincerity: "Since Apple has adopted such an approach in Virginia, we can also find areas where we can influence and sue the other party for unfair competition."

"This kind of complaint may not necessarily lead to an injunction. It can be used to negotiate a settlement 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 the support of public opinion from state legislators during the contact process."

"For such support, including but not limited to the provision of jobs, political contributions, etc."

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

$30 is only a small amount, and expenses such as providing jobs far exceed legal fees.

Yu Hong next to her frowned and said, "From the inexplicable damage prevention of the Clayton Act to the requirements of all aspects, isn't this really blackmail?"

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

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

"No, no, no, for example, to provide jobs, you can reach an agreement with the state government first, and whether to start the construction depends on the situation." Martin said slowly, "It is enough to achieve the goal in a short period of time, and you can measure the long-term impact. We can make it up after the fact."

He added: "This will be more effective. The state legislators only need to protect the interests of local voters. We can even use Apple's unfair competition to hinder the cooperation between Yike and the state government as an excuse to quickly apply for a counter-injunction. .”

Fang Zhuo opened his mouth: "Martin, you also know the situation of our company. I trust you and Cadwalader Law Firm very much. In the process of this 30 yuan, I still hope to reduce the additional cost as much as possible."

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

"Then I'll hold another meeting to discuss it. After all, I don't own the company alone, and I'll give you an answer tomorrow at the latest." Fang Zhuo continued, "You first appeal to the Virginia Court of Appeals, which must be done .”

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

"Me too."

Fang Zhuo sent the group of lawyers out.

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

"...Mmm." Yu Hong nodded and went to the office to contact her.

Fang Zhuo didn't wait for her results, and held a meeting directly to listen to the company's internal evaluation of the Virginia ban, and learned more details.

Apple is very dissatisfied with the delays in the previous acquisition of Echo, and believes that Echo's aggressive market grabbing and announcement of the collapse of the acquisition during this period is extremely despicable.

Then came Virginia's rather abrupt ban.

At present, large channels including Wal-Mart and Kroger Supermarket are implementing the injunction of the state court, while other small channels have not taken action for the time being.

Amazon online is unaffected, nor is iMusic usage.

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

The atmosphere in the conference room was intense, and everyone was condemning Apple's unconventional means of competition.

Fang Zhuo let the group of people release their emotions, 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, it will at most be included in a business competition case for evaluation in a few years."

"You don't have to be too pessimistic. The best market we do is in New York, in New York State."

"Why didn't Apple pick New York State? Why didn't it hit our best market?"

"It shows that their influence is also limited."

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

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

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

"The more anxious Apple is, the more we, Echo, must bring high-quality and low-cost products to the American people."

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

Yike aims to benefit the simple American people and let them enjoy high-quality and low-cost products and services.

This is also the essence of the "Made in China" that is gradually appearing in major supermarkets in the United States.

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

The so-called, a raging soldier, a raging nest.

The boss is so calm, it affects the mood of the employees significantly, and the ban from Virginia is bad news, but not the worst.

The most important thing is that there is money in Yike's account, and five institutions have raised 2400 million US dollars, which can mobilize lawyers, lawmakers, and courts.

The emotions of Yike's overseas team were calmed down, and the work content was 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 are you?" Fang Zhuo asked.

"I also contacted a famous law firm with a higher asking price, and the method does not sound as detailed and reliable as Martin and the others said." Yu Hong replied.

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

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

"I don't think there is any need to be suspicious. Apple must be here for the music copyright."

"Moreover, the use of iMusic has not been banned in Virginia. We must reach a copyright cooperation as soon as possible, which will fundamentally defeat Apple's intention."

Fang Zhuo thought about it and said: "This step is a closed leap from hardware profit to software profit. It is nothing more than Apple's way of doing this. The reason for the so-called breakdown of the negotiation before is a cover-up."

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

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

Regarding the company's cooperation in music copyright, although it was a bit difficult to talk about, progress is also slowly advancing.

Yike mainly contacts 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, which stands for the Society of European Drama Writers and Composers. Although the name is Europe, it is actually an American organization with well-known artists.

"It was Mr. Fang who personally promoted the negotiation. Although the current progress is progressing, there are still differences on many issues." Jackson, an executive from the United States, said.

"Well, I'm here to promote this matter." Fang Zhuo didn't care about the jet lag, "I will make an appointment with the ASCAP people tomorrow, and tonight you study the small details that can be compromised."

"Now it's time to hurry, hurry, hurry, understand?"

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

"understand!"

A firm voice sounded in the meeting room, and the panic atmosphere was cleared up.

(End of this chapter)