Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 505 404! (Bonus chapter for Deep Sea Boss)
The video industry has suffered from piracy for far too long!

In fact, as early as the 9th National Internet Conference in September 2006, Zhang Chaoyang, who had a good relationship with Wenjie (or rather, had good relationships with everyone), approached Liu Hong of Zhijie Video to discuss copyright issues. (Chapter 340)
Wenjie is the largest copyright holder for video websites, followed by Sohu.

Other websites basically pay CCTV a copyright fee as a "toll" and then frantically seize pirated rights.

However, under Lu Kuan's instructions, Zhijie Video has not taken any major action regarding copyright, because the time is not yet right.

What kind of development and competitive landscape did Zhijie Video face from 2006 to 2008?

First, continuously acquire copyrights at bargain prices, signing long-term contracts whenever possible, and also taking advantage of short-term, quick-profit deals, doing everything possible to enrich your copyright library, which will also serve as a moat for your future competitiveness.

At the same time, taking advantage of Mr. Lu's power as the chief director of the Olympics, he legally and compliantly won the Olympic broadcasting rights in a nationwide bidding process.

Despite reaping very little benefit from piracy, it still maintained rapid user growth.

However, in the past two or three years, especially since the beginning of this year, Zhuang Xu and Zhang Chaoyang, the two leaders of video websites, have been expressing their demands for cracking down on piracy in various meetings, forums, and exchanges with higher-level leaders.

Zhang Chaoyang had long been fed up with this. Sohu wasn't like Wenjie, a large and powerful company that could invest huge sums in operating expenses to make a living while acquiring copyrights.

Of course, this is also one of the reasons why the liquidity of the Wenjie system has always been tight, which is the growing pain before listing and the darkness before dawn.

In reality, the idea of ​​taking action only arose at the end of 08 when LeEco officially announced the start of its shareholding reform, aiming for a post-IPO listing.

Although Wenjie as a whole will not be listed, Zhijie's several internet businesses must be listed to raise funds. Otherwise, they will not be able to afford to burn money after 10 years, and funds will become even more scarce and scarce.

How can we just sit idly by and watch LeEco take the lead?
Who doesn't know that being the first is good?

Who remembers who was the second listed entertainment and video company in China?
Coincidentally, in December of last year, LeTV, backed by coal industry funds, decided to pursue a dual path of internet and film development, and has already extended its reach into the film industry.

As a leader in the film industry, Wenjie encourages LeTV Culture to make movies, contribute to the overall Chinese film market, and cultivate audiences' movie-watching habits.

However, as a leader in the video industry, Wenjie dislikes that you have allowed me to bypass regulation by uploading pirated versions of Director Liu's five-part series, "Gold," "Heaven," "Immortal," "God," and "Executioner," which has actually caused us losses.

The 48.8 yuan package deal for the shady washing machine can no longer be sold; it's all for the little fairy's milk powder money!
Especially now that LeTV Culture has partnered with Damai.cn for a joint membership program, it's like searching for excrement with a lantern in the toilet—they're practically courting disaster.

Therefore, under the meticulous planning of the mastermind behind the scenes, a series of combined attacks were prepared.

Two highly reputable internet video websites, Wenjie and Sohu, joined forces with other copyright holders and video companies to establish an "Anti-Piracy Alliance," which was established around the same time as in the previous era.

In the alliance, besides Wenjie and Sohu, the third biggest victim is Mango TV, which was launched this year and is a combination of the domain names of Golden Eagle Network and Hunan TV.

Because the video company on Hunan TV broadcasts only self-produced dramas and imported Korean dramas, which are all legitimate, it naturally became an ally of justice.

In addition, there are original copyright holders such as film studios and television production companies, legal and professional service agencies, advertising and business partners, and so on.

They were either stakeholders with direct interests or people invited by public relations teams to join in the fun, such as state-owned film companies like China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, and Qingdao Film Studio.

Those bastards, Jia Yueting and his gang, even dare to let users upload pirated content from our China Film Group. Aren't you going to do anything about this?!

Together with the "Anti-Piracy Alliance," they formed a team of the best intellectual property lawyers in China in 09 to launch a "year-end attack" on LeTV Culture, which was still basking in the pre-holiday festivities and the surge in video website data.

The lawyer leading the team was Li Decheng, a senior partner at Beijing Jincheng Tongda Law Firm, and currently one of the leading intellectual property lawyers in China.

In his previous life, he assisted in drafting the "Guidelines for the Protection of the Right to Disseminate Information Online" and was deeply involved in the research on copyright supervision policies of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. He was an expert in this industry.

There are three key departments that need to be communicated with this time:
First is the Copyright Management Department of the National Copyright Administration, which is the administrative enforcement body;

Secondly, there is the Information and Communications Administration of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which is the main body responsible for technology supervision;
Finally, there was the Beiping Intermediate People's Court. This was the last resort for the "Anti-Piracy Alliance" after administrative regulations and coordination failed, and it was also the most decisive means when used properly.

A distinctive feature of Southeast University is that it first consults with the relevant departments.

With the year-end approaching, we don't want to cause trouble for our superiors. What do you think we should do about this?

If we are unable to resolve the issue or provide an explanation, we cannot stand idly by and watch our copyrights suffer during the peak traffic period of the Spring Festival. We will have no choice but to resort to legal action.

Suing companies like LeEco, 6rooms, Tudou, and Youku is only to be expected. If things get really bad, we might even sue the National Copyright Administration!

Of course, this is a desperate tactic, like trying to open a window by pretending to demolish the house first. The original obstructors will naturally give in and obediently open the window for you. It cannot be used lightly.

At around 9 a.m. on the 22nd, Zhuang Xu, Zhang Chaoyang, and other representatives from various organizations, along with a team of lawyers, entered the National Copyright Administration.

With the help of all parties working together, the leaders of the Copyright Administration Department, who were busy with administrative affairs before the Spring Festival, met with the "Anti-Piracy Alliance" delegation.

First, representatives from Wenjie, Sohu, Mango TV, and other companies presented their opinions. Director Chen smiled wryly and said:
"Everyone, I fully understand your feelings. At the industry conference at the end of last year, I already reported your demands to the bureau."

"But regarding this matter at present, firstly, the government is very busy before the holiday, and evidence collection and verification will take time—"

He pointed to the staff coming and going in the corridor, reporting on their work, organizing files, and preparing summaries: "Secondly, as far as I know, LeEco's servers are registered in Tianjin, and we will also conduct a joint investigation with the local authorities."

Seeing that the group remained silent, seemingly stumped by his evasive answer, Director Chen tried to salvage the situation: "Look, everyone, we still need to ensure the cultural needs of the public during the Spring Festival. If we were to force the removal of content, or even ban the domains and servers, as you requested, how would we handle this collective complaint?"

"Okay, I'll give Mr. Zhuang and Mr. Zhang a guarantee: we'll file a case as soon as possible after the holiday, is that alright? We'll definitely give you an explanation!"

Zhuang Xu remained calm and composed, his square face etched on his face. His voice was steady: "Director Chen, we had a very pleasant conversation last time, but pleasantness alone cannot solve the problem."

"The Copyright Bureau has been saying that it will gradually solve and eradicate the problem, but since the Olympics, our Zhijie Video has been plagued by piracy. We have paid exorbitant buyout fees, but we cannot get legal protection."

"What's the current situation? I still need to report this to the leadership." The second-in-command of the intellectual property industry waved his hand, signaling to Li Decheng, a bigwig in intellectual property, to bring over the prepared materials.

A thick stack of documents and files, plus several CDs.

“These… Attorney Li already represented you last time, there’s no need to bring them out again.”

Director Chen, a local from Beijing, looked somewhat displeased, but he couldn't stop Zhuang Xu the way he had done with the lawyer last time.

A gentleman may be deceived by his principles, but behind every gentleman stands a powerful figure!

A bigwig who can participate in industry legislation directly as a non-civil servant, and who has entered the top spotlight because of his achievements at the Olympics.

Director Chen didn't care much about money, but Boss Lu's status, position, and influence within the system were something that a Beijing official like him couldn't ignore.

Zhuang Xu knew that troublemakers were difficult to deal with, so he wasn't annoyed. "If you won't read it, I'll just dictate it to you."
"These file folders and CDs contain evidence of 372 instances of copyright infringement by several pirate websites, with LeTV being the most egregious example."

"The specific notarized documents, third-party certifications, explanations of LeEco and Damai's joint membership revenue sharing, and other materials are all here. The data looks rather headache-inducing, so I'll just give you some examples. Do you have the time?"

Director Chen smiled slyly: "Of course, please speak, Mr. Zhuang. I will listen carefully to your opinions and report back to the bureau."

Zhuang Xu nodded: "Taking LeTV as an example, they pirated 'The Story of a Noble Family' which we bought from CCTV, 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils' which we bought from Kyushu Audio-Visual, 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' which we bought from Ciwen Media, as well as 'Zhu Xian' and 'Chinese Paladin' which were produced by Wenjie."

"These five classic works by Ms. Liu Yifei alone have already reached a total of 2 million pirated views on LeTV.com. Each episode of 'Zhu Xian' has been pirated an average of more than 1000 million times."

"These pirated broadcasts are mostly disguised as fan-made content or behind-the-scenes footage, and the websites themselves turn a blind eye to them, so it is impossible to stop them."

"Leaving aside all other pirated resources, the losses caused by piracy in just these five parts alone, resulting in a drop in our package sales and customer complaints leading to forced refunds, amount to as much as 6 million yuan!"

Director Chen's hand trembled, and the tea in his cup splashed onto the table.

Take less?

Zhang Chaoyang and Yao Jia, a representative from Mango TV, were both present today. They glanced at the president of Zhijie and the second-in-command of Wenjie, and marveled at the power of an honest man's lies.

Yao Jia, in particular, had witnessed how Boss Lu conducted business before he rose to prominence.

If he were to say that 6 million was clearly a bluff and an exaggeration, no one would believe him, but no one could refute him either.

However, if the words came from Zhuang Xu, whose reputation, demeanor, and appearance all fit the description of an "honest person," perhaps people would be less suspicious.

The exaggeration of this number is necessary, since everything is in a state of chaos right now. We can just drain the water when it comes to the actual courtroom.

Yao Jia, playing the straight man, added: "And then there's Hunan TV's 'Dae Jang Geum,' 'Full House,' and last year's self-produced 'Ugly Betty,' including our painstakingly crafted 'Princess Pearl' trilogy from the 90s. Actually, Hunan TV's losses are the greatest, especially since it involves Taiwan!"

Director Chen's face darkened further. Before he could even offer any words of comfort or excuse, Zhang Chaoyang refilled his glass: "Director Chen, Sohu paid copyright fees to import American dramas like 'Lost' and 'Prison Break' from abroad, and they are also the biggest victims of piracy. If you calculate it that way, the losses must be seven or eight hundred million! And it involves foreign countries!"

Zhuang Xu silently looked at the two anti-theft alliance allies who were even more impressive than their predecessors, and even the honest man was shocked!

According to you, Xiao Liu knows Guan Hai, who just came on stage!

Her career classic was widely pirated. If the scandal gets out, what does this involve?
Director Chen's eyelids twitched as he listened. "You guys are actually comparing yourselves here, aren't you?"

"Well, everyone's getting a bit agitated, isn't that why the numbers on the meters are jumping up and down just like the odometers of unlicensed taxis? Hehe."

He hesitated for two seconds, then pretended to check his phone: "How about this, I'll go report to the leader and see if the director is home, then I'll give you all an answer, okay?"

"Okay!" "Thank you, boss!"

Everyone watched him leave without saying a word. Zhang Chaoyang sneered, "Preparing to head back? Another delaying tactic. I think we should just check on the Central Court instead."

"Wait, not necessarily." Zhuang Xu smiled and picked up his teacup, making Yao Jia and the others exchange bewildered glances.

Even the wealthiest entrepreneurs are still ordinary citizens, and it's not wrong for them to have reasonable and legitimate demands. But to be "received" by a direct supervisor like Director Chen is already quite good and can be considered as "going among the people."

The director of the Copyright Bureau is a high-ranking official, and meeting him is naturally not as convenient as meeting Director Chen, who can be seen simply by making a request.

Thinking back to Zhuang Xu's earlier attempt to frame Damai.cn, Zhang Chaoyang and Yao Jia immediately understood the situation.

Unlike the previous times when it was just a simple report and a request for an explanation, this time the person was serious.

Director Chen went out, turned left, went straight into his office, locked the door, and took out his phone.

Of course, I didn't call the bureau chief.

Is he bored out of his mind? It's almost Chinese New Year and he's still throwing problems at his superiors. Isn't that just asking for trouble?

"Hello? Boss! Happy New Year!"

"Not good, at least not very good!" Director Chen said in a low voice while dialing on his personal cell phone, "Old Jia, I'm saying, shouldn't you tone it down a bit?"

"I won't go into the previous complaints about piracy on various 'safe havens' sites. You exploited the loopholes in the law, and it's all fine! So is it fine for me!"

"What's going on here? How come they've stolen Liu Yifei's five-part series and even secretly pinned it to the top? Do they think they're not causing enough trouble?"

On the other end of the phone, Jia Yueting took the tea handed to him by his wife, Gan Wei, and chuckled, "Sir, some ordinary people only know that anything not prohibited by law is permissible. We are staunchly against piracy, but we've been powerless to do anything about it! Please don't put us in a difficult position—"

"This time, I voluntarily request the relevant departments to severely punish LeEco! How about a maximum fine of 100 million yuan? Please issue us a regulatory letter and a rectification notice!"

"Everyone at LeEco Culture will resolutely cooperate with the requirements and instructions of our superiors, and will absolutely not cause any trouble for them as the year draws to a close!"

Director Chen felt enlightened upon hearing this, and the annoyance he had just felt from being harassed by the "troublemakers" of the anti-piracy alliance vanished.

Look at this, some people only know how to cause trouble, while others actively resolve their troubles. The difference in how people behave is huge.

To be honest, I couldn't forget my unintentional "complaint" about the difficulty of "setting up the server outside of Beijing, which would make investigation and evidence collection difficult."

As for the maximum fine of 100 million, readers who remember this story might recall the 2004 Travel Channel seasonal drama series, which voluntarily paid a 2000 million deposit to the bureau in order to circumvent censorship restrictions.

They all concern slush funds; it's all the same principle.

Those who worked in government agencies 10 years ago should have heard of the term "slush fund." It was repeatedly banned but never eradicated in various units. Its specific nature is self-evident and will not be elaborated upon here.

When were those slush funds gradually eliminated and rectified?
In April 2009, just two months later, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council jointly issued the "Opinions on Deepening the Governance of 'Small Treasuries'", which for the first time incorporated the governance of small treasuries into the core tasks of the anti-corruption system and included it in the work report of Shiqi.

Around that time, many lawyers received similar inquiries and cases, and offered "legal and compliant" solutions.

The coal merchants behind Jia Yueting didn't lack the money to feed beggars, but they did lack their own slush fund.

Especially with the Lunar New Year approaching, don't the leaders care about their personal finances? How can they appease their subordinates and improve team cohesion?

All other talk is meaningless; the real test is the quantity and quality of the things you bring home.

Director Chen left the meeting room with a dark expression, and returned with the same dark expression.

"Everyone, I just checked the situation again. The bureau takes the issues you raised very seriously. If the materials you provided are true, the Copyright Department will issue a warning letter and a rectification order this afternoon, imposing the maximum fine of 100 million yuan on LeTV. Other smaller websites will be fined according to the circumstances."

Zhuang Xu said helplessly, "Boss, what about the bureau chief..."

Director Chen waved his hand sternly, his demeanor imposing: "The director is extremely busy, but can't we all have some empathy? The method I just mentioned is only a preliminary approach. I will definitely read these files carefully and thoroughly, and I will give everyone a reasonable explanation after the New Year!"

"No, the bureau chief..."

"Director, why do we have to trouble you?" Director Chen was genuinely impatient this time. Did he want me to lose the duck that was already in my mouth?
"Director Chen!" Zhuang Xu said in a deep voice, "The bureau chief asked us to come to his office. We've been waiting for you. Is that clear?"

"what?"

Director Chen was devastated, as if he had lost his parents.

When they went to the director's office to report on their work, they couldn't all squeeze in together like this. Zhuang Xu and Zhang Chaoyang went in together, carrying the key case files, while the others waited in the conference room.

The two private entrepreneurs, representing two of China's leading internet companies, first extended their sincere pre-holiday greetings to the leaders, and then focused on discussing the current situation.

The bureau chief is not a dumping ground or a toolbox for venting anger; the meaning should be conveyed clearly.

In other words, the fact that someone could take time out of their busy schedule to meet with you already indicates and reflects some issues.

Zhuang Xu smiled and said, "Sir, we will provide three of the most important pieces of data evidence—"

"The first document is a notarized certificate issued by the notary office confirming that LeTV's infringing content was retained for 48 hours."

"The second document is a technical report issued by a third-party research institute on LeEco's CDN nodes actively distributing pirated content."

"The third report is based on the profit and loss figures for both parties, derived from LeEco's joint membership policy with Damai.cn and data on LeEco's pirated video streaming volume."

The vice president of Wenjie said with great distress: "Boss, in the joint membership policy between LeEco and Damai.cn, 1.82 yuan of each new paid user comes directly from traffic generated by pirated content."

"We invested over a billion yuan to build a legitimate content ecosystem, only to have it become a free library for pirate websites. If this continues, who will be willing to invest in film and television production? How can China's cultural industry achieve high-quality development?"

Zhuang Xu's tone grew increasingly somber, "Especially during the Spring Festival, which is the peak season for cultural consumption, if we allow piracy to run rampant, it will not only harm the interests of enterprises, but also the national cultural security and social fairness and justice!"

Director Chen listened from the side, secretly alarmed, thinking to himself that this old bastard Jia Yueting was in big trouble this time. He then noticed that the bureau chief kept nodding but remained silent.

I was still a little unsure. Could it be that LeEco's connections had also reached this office? Like with Wenjie?
The director slowly raised his head and said in a heavy tone, "President Zhuang, President Zhang, the current situation is indeed shocking. This is a problem with our counterpart unit. We have failed to do our job properly, which has disappointed you."

Whether Zhang Chaoyang felt disheartened or not is unknown, but Zhuang Xu felt somewhat disheartened upon hearing these words.

Usually, things that start like this don't go well. It seems this time we'll have to take it to the very end and resolve it through legal channels.

From an objective point of view, China adopted a laissez-faire attitude towards piracy for a certain period of time.

This is to cultivate the market and facilitate technology diffusion, thereby lowering the barriers to entry for the industry.

In order to activate user scale and promote the expansion of the cultural industry through pirated content;

Of course, this also takes into account the imbalance between enforcement costs and benefits. The compensation standards are extremely low, but the tracking costs are very high, which is indeed a low cost-performance ratio.

After all, besides videos, there are now Baidu MP3s, derivative products from the Yiwu small commodity market, pirated games...

Piracy is rampant everywhere, and it's not yet time to eradicate it.

If it doesn't concern them, why would they be willing to directly confront the relevant authorities?

The current demands from the industry and the "Anti-Piracy Alliance" are only for a small part of the video website sector.

The director considered the matter carefully and said, "I agree with the maximum penalty that Director Chen just mentioned, as well as the warning letter and rectification notice."

"Okay, if the situation is true, please ask the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Information Management Bureau to issue a letter of assistance, and have them issue a 'Domain Name Disposal Recommendation Letter' to LeTV and other websites with rampant piracy, blocking their domain names for three days, and having them conduct self-examination and rectification!"

Zhang Chaoyang was puzzled but delighted, as this was the first time the authorities had given a direct response to the issue of piracy on video websites.

But Zhuang Xu's heart sank; this was far from meeting his expectations, nor Lu Kuan's.

The power struggle behind the scenes seems extraordinary.

Fines and domain name blocking are already considered heavy penalties, but after three days, which coincides with the Spring Festival, the amount of traffic that should have been attracted is still considerable.

What's the difference between this and being forced to drink three cups of wine as a punishment?
But how can Zhuang Xu continue to mediate now? For a leader of this level to give direct instructions is already quite an achievement.

In the overall work of the copyright bureau, the affairs of video websites are simply insignificant.

Neither Zhuang Xu nor Zhang Chaoyang were unreasonable people, so they immediately said no more and took their leave.

It's time to start Plan B.

"Xiao Chen, stay for a moment." The bureau chief kept "Xiao Chen," who was already in his late forties, in the office, asked him some questions about the topics that the others had just discussed with him, and then calmly told him to leave.

The old comrade stood by the window, watching the bustling chaos of people and vehicles coming and going in the compound. He sighed at the intricate relationships in this society based on personal connections, and his mind was filled with the power struggle between two leaders surnamed Liu.

Railway tracks, Olympics.

But the latter has clearly gone a step further now, and perhaps he can no longer maintain a perfectly balanced approach.

Oh well, let's talk about it after the New Year.
-
Yinshanfang, No. 300, Dongsi North Street, Dongcheng District.

Since LeEco announced its IPO, the number of visitors and the sophistication of the guests here have increased.

At noon, just after Zhuang Xu and his team returned from the Copyright Department in defeat, the modern-day "Shanxi Guild Hall" was filled with laughter and joy.

The VIP lounge was filled with distinguished guests, including wealthy businessmen, celebrities, and industry leaders.

Yang Mi sat at the table, smiling and chatting, while Jia Yueting was toasting Ma Yun.
Gan Wei, the eldest sister of the Teddy Sisters group, along with actresses like Li Xiaolu and newly joined Qin Lan, tirelessly kept the atmosphere lively.

When Director Chen, dressed in casual clothes, entered the room, followed by Yan Zi, one of the top celebrities in China, everyone stood up with smiles and politely invited him to sit down.

"What's going on here? Please, everyone, have a seat!" The room was warm and cozy. Director Chen smiled as he looked at everyone's humility. No matter if you're rich or beautiful, you can't compare to my power.

Moreover, it directly controls the power over LeEco Culture!

Ma Yun laughed and said, "This isn't flattery or fawning; it's respect between us friends. How about I call you Old Chen?"

"Haha, of course! It's better to be casual." Director Chen didn't mind getting to know this person a little better.

Why don't you try having someone else say it?

Yanzi chimed in, "I just ran into Director Ma outside. Mr. Ma, are you hosting a special lunch for him? I'm just tagging along."

"Hey? Don't be modest!" The host, Jia Yueting, smiled憨厚ly. "If you hadn't asked that guy on the railway tracks to pass on the message, the problem wouldn't have been solved so easily this time."

"Today, I am the only one here. I would like to ask Director Chen, General Manager Ma, and Ms. Zhao, along with Mimi and Gan Wei's friends, to join us. I hope you all don't mind?"

"do not mind."

"Beautiful women are pleasing to the eye, why would I mind? Haha."

Director Chen laughed and said, "I was so worried for you guys in the leadership office. You have no idea, those people really came prepared today. I started with a..."

The room was warmly heated, and all that could be heard was his boasting, which was ostensibly stating the facts but actually a way of secretly taking credit. Everyone cheered!
Sigh! It's the Lunar New Year, who cares if it's true or not, just show your support, it's always good to say nice things.

Finally, after the leader asked them to leave, I said to the leader—

"This is just normal business competition. Why bring it up in a government office when the year is almost over?"

"Isn't this just creating trouble for everyone?"

Director Chen snorted lightly: "If you ask me, this Mr. Lu is extremely capable in business and filmmaking, it's just that sometimes, well, hehe."

Perhaps his throat was dry from talking, perhaps he ultimately dared not say anything disrespectful in public, or perhaps he was reminded of this man's formidable reputation and infamous infamy...

Even with the counterpart unit, Director Chen dared not utter a single careless word and stopped himself from speaking in time.

Drink tea, drink tea.

Yanzi feigned ignorance: "Boss, why are you only saying half of what you mean? What's that person like sometimes?"

She rarely makes enemies, let alone Boss Lu.

However, he felt very uncomfortable about him promoting Fan Bingbing, whom he had always looked down upon, to become a wealthy female CEO.

Outsiders may not see the truth, but doesn't Yanzi, who is skilled in this field, understand it?
Without a wide road, how many lifetimes would it take Fan Bingbing to get to this point?
Director Chen gave the first-generation leading lady a reproachful look, and laughed heartily: "Sometimes, of course, he is dashing and unparalleled. Being able to have a refined chat with Ms. Zhao, Ms. Yang, and all of you beautiful ladies here makes us men extremely envious."

"Go away! Such a high-ranking leader, and you still make fun of us!" Yanzi gave him a charming glare, which drew good-natured laughter from everyone.

Ma Yun said calmly, "Luckily, we gave them advance notice this time, otherwise it would have been very dangerous. With the end of the year approaching, if we were to be banned like this, wouldn't the users revolt?"

"Yes! It's a rebellion, not only against Damai.cn, but also against LeEco itself." Jia Yueting said with a wry smile, his face still honest and simple.

I spent money and effort to participate in the joint membership program of Damai.cn and LeTV, and was preparing to enjoy the unparalleled "piracy feast" during the Spring Festival, but when I opened the webpage, it returned a 404 error?
Where can I reason from this?
It's worth mentioning that, just as Zhuang Xu said, LeEco's move this time was aimed at Wenjie and at Liu's fans.

Didn't you ask your wife, who brings her own audience, to do advertising?
Then let's try to win people's hearts with money and see how many of your fans are truly steadfast and good people who can remain unmoved and "pure" in the face of pirated benefits?
In this situation, if the "anti-piracy alliance" such as Wenjie successfully files a complaint and gets their sites blocked, then Damai.cn and LeTV will be subjected to widespread condemnation.

When everyone saw that Lao Ma and Yanzi had gathered together, they knew that the railway tracks had played a crucial role again, which was one of the forces at play that the director had lamented in his office.

"Sigh, in the end, it's still a struggle for interests." Ma Yun looked confident and composed: "We, Tongwenjie and Lukuan, are like swordsmen in Jin Yong's novels exchanging blows!"

"LeEco Culture's foray into film production, with big directors like Feng Xiaogang and big stars like Yang Mi leaving, he was bound to be unhappy."

Old Ma said with a wry smile, "Now that Damai.cn has partnered with LeEco Culture again, he's even more unhappy, but—"

President Ali suddenly tapped the table lightly, drawing everyone's attention and giving the performative personality a tremendous boost and encouragement.

"But this world never changes based on who is happy or unhappy. I personally do not approve of the practice of trying to intervene through administrative means when competition becomes difficult."

This is a euphemistic way of putting it, but it also reflects Damai.cn's current leading position, which is a rare successful counterattack by Ma Yun in the business field.

It took seven months for our online ticketing business to finally take off after we decided to start in May. It was no easy feat.

Ma Yun, who is extremely obsessed with Jin Yong's martial arts novels, became more and more enthusiastic: "To be honest, in my mind, Boss Lu was a character like Zhang Wuji."

"He's taller and more handsome than us ugly ducklings, so his attractiveness to women is beyond words!"

"They can use all sorts of tricks to turn Wenjie into such a behemoth, even moving Huayi away. I'm not indignant about it, but I have to admit it."

Everyone chuckled, and Yang Mi sweetly chimed in, "Mr. Ma also said it was the original plan, so what about now?"

"Now?" Old Ma scoffed, "You still can't see it? It's just the Prince of Ruyang's mansion!"

"What's going on here: the outcome of the 'Zhou Jun case on December 1220th,' Wuyue Culture's rapid return to compliant listing, and Zhuang Xu and his group filing another complaint today?"

"He's using his achievements as the chief director of the Olympics, his positive reputation, and his connections to justify his commercial ambitions! I strongly disagree with this!"

But I'm so envious!

Old Ma pretended to be hearty as he downed a glass of wine, but inside he was filled with bitterness!
Huayi, which had been on the verge of success, suffered a setback; years of investment ultimately turned out to be a case of being cheated on.

He was severely threatened by thugs at the city bureau. He was doing a good job in business and never expected to be turned into an instigator.

Just when Damai seemed poised to gain a decisive advantage, this scoundrel is up to his old tricks again. How despicable!
Good heavens, for someone like Chairman Liu and Old Ma to hate someone so much that they even think he's worse than them, Boss Lu, that scoundrel, has been certified by the "ISO9001 system".

Yang Mi covered her mouth and giggled, then asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "Mr. Ma, Wenjie is the residence of the Prince of Ruyang, so who are the Xuanming Elders behind it?"

"Tch! That's just the Olympics..."

"Mr. Ma! Let's drink! Why bring this up?" Director Chen, who had been listening to everyone's gossip with a smile, suddenly interrupted, a cold sweat running down his back!
These business people and gigolos are really ungrateful. They could talk about that person before, but do they still dare to now?
Don't they realize that this is about to be formally accepted into the inner sanctum?
Old Ma suddenly realized that his past life's various boastful remarks were beginning to show, proving that his performative personality was hard to change.

"Drink! Drink!"

Jia Yueting changed the subject with a憨厚 smile, but in reality, he knew exactly what was going on, having been silently observing all along:

"Mimi, don't worry so much. There are rumors about your conflict with Liu Yifei lately. Don't take it to heart."

"With LeEco Culture and so many good friends, especially Xiao Xu's strong support, its future development will not be much worse than Liu Yifei's."

"Think about it, wasn't she Zhang Ziyi's stunt double back then?"

Yanzi laughed and said, "That's right! Yifei is excellent, but Mimi, you're not bad either. Just follow your own path."

She doesn't offend anyone, not even behind their back.

"Um, thank you everyone for your support. I'll start by doing the circle! Leader, let me toast you first~~~" Da Mimi's sweet, childlike voice drifted into his ears, and Director Chen was delighted.

The drinking lasted until 3 p.m., and even after the banquet ended, the party didn't end. Everyone called their friends and sang, played cards, and played mahjong in the club.

In a completely private setting, surrounded by fine wine and beautiful women, it was just a matter of eating and drinking, with nothing else involved, so Director Chen had absolutely no psychological burden.

Inside the private room of the club, neon lights spun and cast colorful shadows, while Fei Yuqing's classic old song "Yi Jian Mei" was playing from the speakers.

The melodious tune echoed in the private room. Everyone held microphones and sang in a scattered but enthusiastic manner.

"True feelings are like plum blossoms in bloom, which cannot be buried by the cold ice and snow..." Ma Yun held up the microphone, sang with her head swaying, her tone off but full of momentum, just like she was giving a speech at Ali's annual meeting.

Jia Yueting clapped and chuckled to himself, glancing occasionally at Yang Mi, who was leaning against Director Chen, toasting him.

This girl knows how to handle things.

Director Chen was so pleased with himself that he took the microphone and sang a line from "Snowflakes are falling, the north wind is howling," but his off-key singing caused the whole room to burst into laughter.

He didn't seem to mind and handed the microphone to Jia Yueting, saying, "Old Jia, you take over."

"Okay..." Jia Yueting stood up, her phone buzzing on the table. "I'll take this call, boss. You can continue."

"Yes! This 'A Spray of Plum Blossoms' can't just be sung once and then be gone, Director Chen, please continue!"

In high spirits, Jia Yueting walked into the built-in restroom, answered the phone, and was connected to Gao Fei, the vice president of LeEco.

This person is the former deputy editor-in-chief of Ku6.com, and also served as deputy editor-in-chief, editor-in-chief, and video director of Sina.com's news center. He is very capable.

"Mr. Jia, our website is having problems! When users click on it, it just shows..."

shock!
"What?" Jia Yueting's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and after a long while, she slapped her forehead: "Haha, I know, I know, don't worry."

"This is a protective removal by the leaders. I made arrangements with Ren Lei at noon, and we will issue an announcement tonight to explain to users that the membership time of these three days is not included, and everyone will have their time renewed for free."

"I drank a bit too much at noon. Don't worry, Lao Gao, we'll handle whatever needs to be done."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone. Gao Fei felt even more disheartened; it seemed the market situation was worse than he had imagined.

No! No, that's not it!

Gao Fei's voice suddenly became high-pitched over the microphone, almost drowning out Director Chen's renewed attack on "The North Wind Howls" outside!
"Mr. Jia, the user isn't being redirected to a 404 page; I know that's a temporary blocking!"

"All of LeTV's domain names are now being forcibly redirected to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's filing system, and the homepage displays a court's freezing notice!"

Beep, beep, beep…

Jia Yueting, who always presented an honest and simple appearance, rushed out of the bathroom in a panic, turned on the dim lights and turned off the main sound system with a serious expression.

Director Chen had just sung the difficult line "The north wind howls" with the help of the wine offered by Da Mimi, and was about to end with "The world is vast and desolate," but now all that could be heard in the room was his hoarse voice that sounded like it was being choked.

Who's such a spoilsport?!

Director Chen looked at Jia Yueting, whose expression had softened slightly, and said, "Old Jia, you've had a bit too much to drink."

Jia Yueting dropped her pretense, her face grim: "Something's happened! LeTV's website has been frozen by the court!"

"How did you know?" Director Chen frowned, somewhat incredulous. He knew very well the director's attitude.

Ma Yun jumped up, a bad feeling creeping over her again: "What's going on?"

Jia Yueting gripped his phone, veins bulging on his forehead. His Adam's apple bobbed, but he only managed a dry, cold laugh as he pointed outside:

"Let's go take a look!"

Thanks to the convenience of the Internet age, the mystery was solved in no time. Everyone who looked at the faulty page of LeTV felt a chill creep up from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads.

The red background and white text on the screen are clear and eye-catching:
-
According to the Civil Ruling No. 134 of 2009 (京知诉保字第134号), this website is suspected of copyright infringement and has been subject to pre-litigation injunctive relief measures in accordance with the law.

Signed by: The First Intermediate People's Court of Beiping City
Date: January 22, 2009
-
Preservation measures are temporary coercive measures in civil litigation.

This refers to a system in which a court, before or during a case hearing, upon application by a party, orders the respondent to immediately cease a specific act in order to prevent the infringement from continuing to cause irreparable damage.

For example, LeTV's website is currently showing a 404 error.

After drinking, Director Chen was somewhat dazed, seemingly still immersed in the romantic and grand atmosphere of "the north wind howling".

Well, that's it. "A Cut Plum Blossom" has really become "Gone with a Cut".

"Gao Fei, what happened?!"

Gao Fei called, and before he could even speak, Jia Yueting launched into a stern interrogation, a stark contrast to his earlier gentle demeanor.

Even without speakerphone, the vice president's thorough reply still resonated throughout the office:
"The 'Anti-Piracy Alliance' sued us in the Beiping No. 1 Intermediate People's Court this morning. It seems they didn't expect the Copyright Department to give them any answers at all; it's just a smokescreen!"

Gao Fei was quite capable; he quickly clarified his thoughts.

In previous communications, the focus and crux of the issue lay with the copyright department, and LeEco and the "axis of evil" had consistently focused their public relations and event management efforts on this matter.

Unexpectedly, this time the opponent directly chose the most aggressive style of fighting, completely abandoning the "traditional virtue" of first being polite and then resorting to force!
Once the relevant departments have made a decision, they will not easily change it, even if it is wrong. This is a characteristic of Southeast University.

It's too late to say anything now, but we still have to try to fix things after the damage is done.

The longer these "negative ads" are displayed, the stronger the distrust will become among users. Complaints and refunds are minor issues; the reputation of Lao Jia, a representative of Shanxi merchants, will also be damaged.

Old Jia did have some legal knowledge: "Pre-litigation preservation is fine! Isn't it just freezing assets? Why shut down our entire website? And in this way!"

"What will users think of us? Do we still care about LeEco's reputation and goodwill?"

"Mr. Jia..." Gao Fei explained helplessly, "I have already consulted with the legal department immediately."

"Preservation measures are divided into property preservation and behavioral preservation, which are intended to stop our continued..."

The vice president said awkwardly, "Stop our continued infringement, because every second our Liu Yifei Five-Part Series, American dramas, Korean dramas, and all other resources are on the website, it affects their membership, purchase revenue, and advertising revenue."

"How long will it last?" Jia Yueting quickly calmed down.

"The court's pre-trial injunction has just been served because too many users uploaded pirated content, causing excessive financial losses to companies like Wenjie and Sohu."

"The mandatory freeze period is 30 days. Within 30 days, the other party must file a lawsuit, otherwise we can apply for its withdrawal."

The standard procedure is to first issue a pre-litigation preservation order to stop the infringement by the other company, and then initiate litigation.

Gao Fei's sense of powerlessness seemed to be transmitted to the other side through the microphone, making everyone in the room feel a chill.

With only three days until Lunar New Year's Eve, it seems that no matter how hard we try to work out or smooth things over, this Spring Festival will inevitably be plagued by 404 errors.

Cold sweat trickled down Jia Yueting's back. At this moment, she seemed to empathize with Lao Ma's loss of composure at noon. The blue light of the screen reflected in her eyes felt like she was reading an invisible verdict.

Ma Yun was also extremely anxious, but he had just sent a message to inquire without making a sound, and Damai.cn was temporarily fine.

Horse riding!
Otherwise, I'll definitely report that scoundrel to the Party Central Committee!
The fear that once gripped him and was now divided into two parts, and Old Ma couldn't quite describe how he felt. He still mustered his spirits and comforted his friends, saying, "Everything is possible with human effort. Hurry up and contact people."

Director Chen hadn't spoken since he entered, and now he couldn't stop sighing softly, his words chilling.

“You’ve all mentioned that he’s from the Prince of Ruyang’s Mansion, and you’ve all mentioned the Two Elders of Xuanming.”

"I never imagined that the First Intermediate People's Court, although not under the jurisdiction of a specific department, would respond to the company's demands so quickly... There's something behind this."

Even Yang Mi and Yanzi understood what she meant.

"Vertical and horizontal jurisdiction" is a concept in the administrative system of Southeast University, meaning that departments are simultaneously subject to dual management by both vertical superiors and horizontal local governments.

The courts are not included, but all government agencies in this land are, unable to escape the rule.

The Copyright Bureau holds a superior position, subordinate to the State Council, and my influence is likely limited.

But your First Intermediate People's Court is on my territory, isn't it?

The demands of Wenjie and the "Anti-Piracy Alliance" are not many; they simply hope that the judicial authorities will handle the matter impartially. The existence of Leader Liu is to ensure that the legitimate and reasonable demands of enterprises are met.

There was no backdoor involved.

You bootleggers are now sighing and complaining about being a vulnerable group. Is that even reasonable?

Old Ma couldn't just sit idly by and watch LeTV continue its downward spiral. He took out his phone and comforted Yueting, "Yueting, think of a way to clean up the mess and appease the customers. Don't ruin our reputation. We can't skimp on money right now."

"I'll contact Chairman Liu to see if there's any way."

Ma Yun didn't want to meddle, but the collaboration between Damai.cn and LeEco was gaining momentum, which also concerned the policy continuity of their joint membership system.

Furthermore, having learned from past mistakes, Old Ma is also worried that this fire might spread to Damai.cn, which would truly be a case of not being at fault.

Piracy has been rampant for more than four years. Who would have thought that right now, at this very moment, just three days before the Spring Festival, the other side would launch a fierce attack?

They even resorted to such despicable and vile methods!

Didn't this guy drug all the heroes of the martial arts world and imprison them in Wan'an Temple?
Helpless, Feng Qingyang, whose political and business influence had not yet reached its peak and it was hard to say whether it would ever reach its peak in this lifetime, dialed the number of Liu, the Shaolin Temple's most respected figure in the martial arts world.

Yanzi, Yang Mi, and the others sighed inwardly, especially the latter, who felt a mix of emotions. She never expected that her new employer would be dealt a blow so soon after taking just one step into the film industry.

The man who made her heart and manhood itch was still as cold and ruthless as the wind blowing through the old alleys of Beiping in winter.

Yang Mi is considering talking to her boyfriend and strongly suggests that Jia Yueting sever ties with Damai.cn, at least by honestly making movies, he wouldn't have brought about this disaster.

Otherwise, she was very worried that her seemingly promising new ship might be capsized and sunk by an aircraft carrier.

Ring ring ring!
Gao Fei's phone rang again. Jia Yueting, who didn't want to answer but had no choice, pursed her lips and remained silent.

"Mr. Jia, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Information Management Department and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce have both called. Dozens of website users have complained about us committing fraud, and we just received the calls..."

Users' anger is understandable. It seems like they just transferred 38.8 yuan to someone nearby on WeChat for a ride-hailing service, and were immediately blocked.

Mother Ganlin!
Old Jia was somewhat stunned by this smooth combination of punches and leaned back on the sofa in silence.

Only at this moment did he gain a more concrete understanding of the rumors surrounding Wenjie and Lukuan. The first appearance of the black gold forces in the domestic entertainment industry was met with a rude awakening because they temporarily chose the wrong ally.

Compared to high-end business battles like dump trucks and the "1220 Zhou Jun case," Jia Yueting might dislike these subtle, low-end business battles even more.

This is so frustrating! So sudden! This is so unfair!
For some reason, looking at his dejected expression, Da Mimi, who has loved playing games since she was a child, seemed to hear a voiceover from the system.

But it was the man who spoke;

Welcome to the new player, coal mine owner, in the entertainment industry 2.0 era!

(End of this chapter)