Chapter 85: Legal Department: Boss Ma, Our Legal Department Cannot Withstand This Anymore!

During the several days of waiting for the judgment document to be issued.

Because of Lin Quan’s introduction and strong recommendation.

And because the trial results were communicated to some small and medium sized game studios that had suffered plagiarism.

Quite a number of such studios came to contact Baijun Law Firm.

The purpose of their contact was naturally to pursue accountability.

They hoped that they could also prevail in litigation and obtain their lawful rights and interests.

Over the course of several days.

Su Bai met face to face with no fewer than eight heads of small and medium sized game studios.

Among them.

No fewer than twenty people conducted consultations through the internet.

Of course.

Understanding the case itself was free.

However, consultation regarding legal provisions and general legal questions required paid consultation.

It was not reasonable to allow others to obtain professional knowledge without compensation before a case had even been accepted.

The price was not high.

The legal fees from the Nanyou Studio case were transferred into the law firm’s account by Lin Quan on the second day after the judgment was issued as a demonstration of his sincerity.

This case allowed Su Bai to upgrade the quality of his tea slightly.

Five thousand nine hundred ninety nine yuan for 1,500 grams (≈3.3 lb), equivalent to approximately two thousand yuan per 500 grams (≈1.1 lb).

A single consultation of half an hour cost two thousand yuan, which was approximately enough to purchase 500 grams (≈1.1 lb) of tea.

Among the twenty consultations, some lasted longer than usual, and the total consultation fees amounted to approximately sixty thousand yuan.

This constituted revenue generation.

For this reason, Su Bai also increased Li Xuezhen’s monthly internship allowance by two hundred yuan.

However.

For some reason Li Xuezhen looked somewhat innocent and asked.

“Lawyer Su, have you become wealthy?”

Su Bai nodded and asked with a smile.

“Yes, this time our law firm has obtained funds, and your salary has been increased, are you happy?”

Li Xuezhen revealed a forced smile.

“I am happy.”

This expression of happiness seemed even more uncomfortable than unhappiness.

Su Bai felt puzzled but did not ask further; there was no reason to be unhappy about a salary increase.

Perhaps the wealthy young woman did not care about two hundred yuan.

However, what Li Xuezhen was actually thinking was that now that the law firm had funds.

Her own funds could no longer be invested.

Li Xuezhen felt troubled.

In the office.

Su Bai leisurely drank tea, then exhaled deeply and glanced out of the window, saw nothing of particular interest, and withdrew his gaze.

The judgment document from the Nanshan High Court had been mailed to Baijun Law Firm, and he had already asked Li Xuezhen to notify Lin Quan and Meng Xiaofan to come and collect it.

According to the time, Lin Quan and Meng Xiaofan were about to arrive.

Soon, before ten minutes had passed, Lin Quan and Meng Xiaofan arrived at Baijun Law Firm.

Under Li Xuezhen’s guidance, they entered Su Bai’s office.

“Hello, Lawyer Su.”

“Good afternoon, Lawyer Su.”

Lin Quan and Meng Xiaofan greeted Su Bai warmly.

Su Bai responded equally warmly.

He then arranged for Lin Quan and Meng Xiaofan to sit on the sofa opposite him.

After Su Bai sat down, Li Xuezhen poured tea for each of them and then sat obediently behind Su Bai.

Su Bai handed the judgment document to Lin Quan.

“The address previously filled in for mailing the judgment document was the address of the law firm; this is the judgment document, please keep it safely.”

“Thank you, Lawyer Su.”

Lin Quan smiled as he folded the judgment document and placed it into the bag he had brought with him.

He then continued speaking.

“Lawyer Su, the heads of the game studios that I previously introduced to you were quite suitable, were they not, perhaps you will receive many more cases involving disputes with Penguin.”

Su Bai smiled and nodded.

Those whom Lin Quan introduced were enthusiastic in consultation, and several had established contact, but at present none had confirmed litigation.

After all.

The opposing party was Penguin, and legal fees amounting to several hundred thousand yuan were not affordable for ordinary parties.

Furthermore, some of them requested guaranteed victory.

However.

After all, the opposing party was Penguin.

Not to mention whether further litigation would lead the opposing party’s legal department to prepare comprehensively, even from the perspective of the cases themselves.

Some of the games produced by those studios were assembled through multiple layers of imitation.

If a studio’s own game was itself assembled through multiple layers of imitation, how could it accuse others of plagiarism.

The opposing party could easily file a counterclaim, which might not only lead to defeat but also result in penalties for the plaintiff.

Such cases could certainly not be won.

The reason Lin Quan’s case could be won was that Crazy Match Match Match was entirely original in the market, and therefore originality could be established.

Therefore after these contacts.

After the situation had been explained clearly, only one studio remained willing to continue discussions.

That studio’s game was indeed original, and Penguin had also committed certain acts of imitation in terms of artwork and elements, which made litigation feasible.

Victory would be highly likely.

In response to Lin Quan’s question, Su Bai smiled and expressed his thanks.

“It is true that we have received a case, and currently it is not easy for the law firm to accept cases, so I must thank you for your recommendation.”

Lin Quan immediately replied.

“There is certainly no need to thank me, if thanks are required then our studio should thank you.”

“When we previously litigated against Penguin in the first instance, we also engaged top lawyers in Nandu, but we lost directly, and the remaining first class lawyers and law firms were also not optimistic about this case against Penguin.”

“If it had not been for Lawyer Su, our studio certainly could not have won.”

“The ability to accept cases depends entirely on your capability, Lawyer Su.”

Su Bai smiled but had not yet spoken when Lin Quan continued.

“Lawyer Su, Penguin intends to reach a settlement with us, and I would like to consult you regarding certain related matters.”

A settlement.

Had Penguin lowered its position.

Su Bai smiled and nodded.

“Please ask.”

Lin Quan took a deep breath.

“The situation is as follows, Lawyer Su, Penguin contacted me and stated that they are willing to purchase part of the copyright of Crazy Match Match Match for twenty million yuan.”

“The overall operation of Crazy Match Match Match would remain in our hands, and Penguin is also willing to sign certain unequal agreements.”

“The conditions they proposed are that our side cannot continue to disseminate news of Penguin’s defeat, and Penguin would not need to issue a public apology to us.”

“I would like to ask Lawyer Su whether there are any issues involved in this arrangement.”

It appeared that Penguin was willing to make a considerable financial effort to eliminate the impact of this defeat.

“Yes.”

“Whether to sign an agreement depends mainly on whether the agreement contains any problematic clauses, but according to what you described, Penguin likely intends to eliminate the impact of this defeat through financial compensation.”

“There does not appear to be any major issue involved, but the specific content still needs to be reviewed in detail.”

“Whether to reach a settlement mainly depends on your own decision.”

“Understood, Lawyer Su.”

After hearing Su Bai’s response, Lin Quan nodded slightly and continued speaking.

“Lawyer Su, there is another matter for which we came today.”

“What matter?”

“Our studio hopes to cooperate with Baijun Law Firm in the future in order to handle certain legal issues, and we would like to know whether this is possible.”

This represented a proposal for cooperation.

Generally speaking, large law firms could not rely solely on case acceptance to sustain operations.

Therefore in many circumstances they would establish cooperative relationships with certain companies.

In essence, this meant that the company valued the law firm and was willing to provide financial support.

Clearly, this was Lin Quan’s intention.

For Baijun Law Firm, this was obviously a beneficial development.

Su Bai smiled and revealed two neat rows of white teeth.

“Of course this is possible, this is a mutually beneficial form of cooperation.”

After hearing Su Bai’s response, Lin Quan felt somewhat relieved, as he had been concerned that a lawyer of Su Bai’s level might not consider cooperation with a small studio.

However, at present the cooperation had been successfully established.

Lin Quan’s face was filled with smiles as he extended his hand and shook Su Bai’s hand firmly.

With Su Bai and this outstanding law firm.

Nanyou Studio would no longer need to worry about legal issues in the future.

After both sides reached an intention of cooperation, Lin Quan and Meng Xiaofan remained in the office and discussed Penguin’s proposed settlement for another half hour.

After completing the discussion.

Lin Quan and Meng Xiaofan left the law firm.

After the two departed, Li Xuezhen slightly frowned.

It appeared that the law firm would no longer lack funds in the future.

Possessing five million yuan but having no opportunity to use it created a sense of difficulty.

Su Bai briefly organized the concession agreement materials provided by Penguin and left by Lin Quan.

He then handed them to Li Xuezhen.

“I have reviewed these agreements and found no issues, please review them once more.”

After receiving the agreements, Li Xuezhen asked curiously.

“Lawyer Su, is Nanyou Studio really going to accept Penguin’s cooperation proposal?”

“It cannot be regarded as acceptance, it can only be said that Penguin is willing to make substantial concessions because of its defeat.”

“As for whether to accept it, that is the client’s decision and has nothing to do with us.”

“Our responsibility is only to act upon payment and to secure the greatest possible interests for the client.”

“Understood, Lawyer Su.”

Li Xuezhen nodded seriously.

After Li Xuezhen left the office and only Su Bai remained.

Su Bai let out a long breath; in this Penguin case their law firm had indeed gained a great deal.

Not only legal fees.

More importantly, Baijun Law Firm and Nanyou Studio had reached an intention of cooperation.

For Baijun Law Firm, this represented a crucial and solid step toward expansion.

Regarding the cooperation intention between Nanyou Studio and Baijun Law Firm, both sides soon signed an agreement.

For this reason, Lin Quan even specially presented a commemorative banner.

The left side of the banner read: The Little Penguin undefeated in Nanshan?

The right side of the banner read: The ace law firm defeats you decisively.

It was hung beside the banner previously presented by Wan Henghao, creating a corresponding effect.

In addition.

Among the game studios previously introduced by Lin Quan, the head of the studio that had been willing to continue contact decided to initiate litigation against Penguin.

Previously, that studio had endured the situation without filing a lawsuit because it feared the opposing party’s scale and strength.

After the precedent of Nanyou Studio’s victory.

Following communication with Su Bai, the studio quickly made its decision and chose to initiate litigation against Penguin.

After understanding the overall process and completing the necessary preparations.

Su Bai soon filed a complaint again with the Nanshan Intermediate Court.

When the legal department received the notification, they were confused.

Had another lawsuit been filed again so soon.

The previous case had only just concluded, and now another had arrived.

This appeared excessive.

The legal department expressed dissatisfaction regarding Su Bai’s renewed litigation and immediately studied the new litigation target overnight.

They then discovered.

The situation of imitation by the game department in this instance was even more serious, and the game had nearly been reproduced in its entirety.

Even if the entire legal department were mobilized, the maximum probability of victory would be only fifty percent.

The game department seemed to assume that the legal department would always remain undefeated.

The head of the legal department immediately reported to the company leader.

“The imitation by the game department is too serious, and the legal department cannot withstand this situation.”

After the report concluded.

A series of internal corrective measures were implemented within the company.

The head of the game department was severely criticized.

At the same time.

Regarding the renewed litigation case represented by Su Bai, the legal department chose to reach a settlement.

If litigation could not be won.

Then settlement would resolve the matter.

This prevented the emergence of significant negative consequences.

Financial compensation was provided directly.

Ultimately, the head of the game studio that had entrusted the case, after receiving a substantial compensation amount far exceeding potential litigation damages.

Smiled continuously and withdrew the lawsuit and reached a settlement.

As for Su Bai.

He remained indifferent, as this merely meant that there was one fewer opportunity to decisively defeat Penguin in litigation.

If the case proceeded, it would proceed, and if settlement occurred, his legal fees would not be reduced.

However, in the case of settlement.

Li Xuezhen appeared somewhat concerned.

There was one fewer opportunity to defeat Penguin again.