Chapter 207: Each Uses Its Own Means
"Your Excellency, the portable game console produced by Gaode Co., Ltd. is highly similar to our products in both appearance and content."
In court, Shirakawa Electric's lawyer Yasuyuki Konishi held up two identical handheld game consoles and showed their similarities to the judge and the jury.
“In addition, this is the patent description we applied for the cross direction key.
This is a report of the size and structure of a similar design of a portable game console from AutoNavi.
Konishi Yasuyuki picked up the printed technical instructions from his side and showed them to the people around him.
“Whether in terms of structure or size, our product design is almost 100% restored.
There is no doubt that this is outrageous and direct plagiarism, which is a contempt for the Patent Law!
Over the past four months, all of AutoNavi's similar portable game consoles have adopted this design, with sales reaching hundreds of thousands of units.
Please understand, Your Honor, this has caused us huge reputational and financial losses.
Therefore, we have the right to demand reasonable financial compensation and a public apology from the other party.
We also request the court to order AutoNavi Corporation to immediately stop producing and selling the relevant infringing products!"
During attorney Yasuyuki Konishi's defense, evidence collectors presented the physical objects and explanatory materials provided by Shirakawa Electric to the judge and jury.
The chief judge, Tadao Ishii, glanced at the report in his hand, nodded, and handed it to the jury judge beside him.
"Does the defendant's lawyer have any doubts?"
“Mr. President, a button is a purely functional component and is not innovative and cannot be a patentable item.
Therefore, we do not agree with Shirakawa Electric's accusation of infringement. Please understand this."
Goldman Sachs spent a lot of money to hire defense lawyer Noguchi from Osaka, who tried his best to make a final defense for Goldman Sachs' handheld game console in court.
“Whether the Patent Law is reasonable or not has nothing to do with this case.
Please ask the defendant's lawyer to make relevant defense based on the facts described in the patent. "
The presiding judge, Tadao Ishii, announced expressionlessly that the defendant's lawyer's defense was invalid.
In the audience seats below the court, Takagi Tokujiro clenched his fists, his eyes nervously staring at the figure in front of him under his sweaty forehead.
I went through so much trouble to bypass Tokyo and hired a lawyer from Osaka at a high price. I must not let myself down.
However, what you fear will come true. Lawyer Noguchi in front glanced at Takagi Tokujiro.
Although he didn't say anything, Takagi loosened his hands and collapsed on the bench as if exhausted.
“Since the defendant, Guide Co., Ltd., no longer defended, Shirakawa Electric won the patent dispute lawsuit.
The specific details of the judgment will be announced in this court on December 20, and the parties to the dispute can conduct a final mediation before then. "
Judge Tadao Ishii stood up and made the final ruling on this final debate.
As they watched the judges leave the courtroom one by one, everyone at Shirakawa Electric smiled again.
Takagi Tokujiro's eyes went dark and he almost fell to the ground.
Fortunately, Oda beside him supported him in time, otherwise an ambulance would have to be called in court.
When Takagi saw his lawyer Noguchi coming over, he felt like he had seen a savior.
Grabbing the man's arm, he looked at him hopefully. "Noguchi-san, can we appeal?"
Noguchi nodded at first, but soon shook his head.
"Takagi-san, this is just the final debate, there is no official verdict yet.
If you appeal, you can only appeal to the High Court after the judgment.
But..." Noguchi shook his head, "I don't recommend doing this. If possible, try to make a final mediation with the other party."
When there is sufficient physical evidence, it is difficult to overturn the previous verdict.
Noguchi can only make a fuss about the patent itself, instead of denying that AutoNavi's products are highly similar to those of the other party.
Unfortunately, the chief judge did not support his argument.
Otherwise, once the patent of Shirakawa Electric is re-examined, it will take at least a year and a half.
But there is . Three or four months have passed from the time Shirakawa Electric filed the lawsuit to today's final debate.
According to Japan's civil litigation procedures, the complaint and summons are served to the court and the defendant.
The next steps are the date of the first oral argument, the assertion stage, and the collection of evidence.
There is a lot to be done here, but unfortunately when he received the commission from Gaode, it was about to enter the final debate stage.
Moreover, the court's initial trial process was too fast.
According to Noguchi's experience, it is considered fast if the first oral debate can start within half a year.
But this lawsuit took less than four months from the beginning to the final debate, which is simply unbelievable.
It’s not that this is against the procedure, but when did the court become so efficient?
Are judges in Tokyo more diligent than judges in Osaka?
Noguchi would never have such naive ideas.
If there is no other force behind this, his decades of experience in the legal field will be wasted.
So this is why he did not advise Gao Mu to appeal just now. Beneath the calm surface of the lake, there are often astonishing giants.
After listening to Noguchi's explanation, Takagi Tokujiro's face suddenly turned pale.
Gaode Co., Ltd. is finished.
Not to mention the 1 billion yen in foreign debt owed previously, there is also the 2 billion yen in compensation that Shirakawa Electric requested.
Even if you sell Gaode Corporation at this time, it is not worth so much money.
"Mr. Noguchi, if..." Takagi Tokujiro grabbed lawyer Noguchi's arm tremblingly and gritted his teeth.
"If AutoNavi files for bankruptcy at this time, then the compensation for this lawsuit..."
Noguchi looked at Takagi Tokujiro in surprise. He didn't expect that this employer would be so courageous.
"Takagi-san, excuse me, does your company have any other debts now?"
Takagi Tokujiro was stunned. "Yes, there is, but how does this relate to this lawsuit..."
Lawyer Noguchi understood his idea. Tokuyuki Takagi simply wanted to apply for bankruptcy protection before the judgment was made or took effect.
In this way, when the court verifies AutoNavi's assets, if the other party is indeed unable to repay the compensation to Shirakawa Electric.
Perhaps it is really possible to go through bankruptcy procedures and get rid of this part of the debt.
But if it is Gaode Co., Ltd., Shirakawa Electric will not be the only creditor.
So……
“Takagi-san, if Gaode had existed before, the creditors would have cleared the debt.
Then, all of AutoNavi’s existing property and account funds will be frozen, and individual accounts will also be subject to necessary review.”
Takagi Tokujiro took a breath, he understood the other meaning in Lawyer Noguchi's words.
Even before the court made a ruling, he filed for bankruptcy to avoid compensation from Shirakawa Electric.
However, the previous debts cannot be avoided, which means that all the profits from the handheld game console that Gaode has copied with great effort recently will have to be handed over.
Thinking of this, Takagi Tokujiro felt a pang of pain in his flesh.
This is currently the only profitable business of AutoNavi. If it can't even maintain this little profit, then it will really have nothing.
"Mr. Takagi, if possible, please seek an out-of-court settlement with the other party.
Especially when the amount of compensation far exceeds the company's assets." Noguchi hinted to him again that it was not advisable to fight to the end.
And this is also the wisest approach, although Shirakawa Electric requested 2 billion yen in compensation.
However, this figure is generally negotiable as long as the two parties can reach a settlement out of court.
1 billion in foreign debt, 2 billion in compensation, and the profits from hundreds of thousands of handheld game consoles...
After weighing the pros and cons for a long time, the hesitation and struggle in Takagi Tokujiro's eyes slowly disappeared.
"Noguchi-san, thank you for your care during this trial."
Having already made up his mind, he put aside his hesitation and bowed solemnly to Noguchi.
Noguchi bowed in return, "It's my job, Takagi-san, there's no need to do this."
As a defense lawyer, regardless of whether it is just or not, he will do his best and his professional principles cannot be changed.
"Noguchi-san, I'll have to trouble you to accompany me to Shirakawa Electric later."
Takagi Tokujiro's next words once again made Noguchi realize his decisiveness.
"It should be so." Since Noguchi has accepted the job, he naturally has the obligation to see it through to the end.
…
In the electronic game industry, the much-anticipated copyright infringement case between Shirakawa Electric and Guide Corporation finally came to a conclusion in the early last month of 1980.
As expected, Shirakawa Electric won the case.
Although the official judgment has not yet been issued, the huge compensation paid to Shirakawa Electric has already caused a lot of controversy in this period of time.
The astronomical figure of 2 billion yen directly scared those small companies that were trying to make a quick buck.
Even though losing a case and being judged are two different things, they don't bother to figure this out.
All they saw were two shocking words: "lost" and "2 billion".
So within just one week, more than half of the copycat companies producing handheld game consoles disappeared quietly!
The legal department of Shirakawa Electric was looking for its next target, but upon closer inspection, they found that some of the companies had even been deregistered.
This... is like guerrilla warfare, one hammer strike and the others stop showing up.
Also in Taito Ward, Masudaya Co., Ltd.
"Boss, 2 billion! This..."
Oshima, the head of Masudaya's marketing department, no longer had his usual shrewdness, and instead had a look of panic on his face.
"Don't panic, you just lost the case, there is no verdict yet."
Although President Saito Harumasa was comforting his subordinates, he himself was sweating profusely at the moment.
2 billion yen? Even if you sell Masudaya, it’s still not worth that much.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Saito tried hard to control the shaking of his hands holding the newspaper.
"Shirakawa Electric was able to win the case because they have a patent."
Yes, that's right!
Saito Haru found a reason to feel at ease, and his rapid heartbeat slowly subsided.
"Does Nintendo have a patent? No! It doesn't!" Saito waved his hand, and his confidence grew stronger.
"Don't be afraid, Oshima. Nintendo is far away in Kyoto. They can't do anything to us.
In court, they had no basis for their case, so we won!"
"Hayi" was comforted by the president, and Oshima also unconsciously felt relieved.
2 billion, it shouldn’t be that much.
"President! Something terrible is happening~"
Just as Saito and Oshima were comforting each other in the office, his assistant Zuo Menwei hurried in from outside the door.
"I told you, don't panic! Left Guard, what's going on?"
Saito Harumasa glared at the flustered left guard with dissatisfaction.
"President, Shimada Productions has refused to produce for us. And..."
"And what?!" Saito Haru raised his voice unconsciously.
The left guard took a breath and said, "And the person we delivered to the retail store today was beaten by a group of Yakuza."
"What?!" Saito Harumasa was immediately furious.
“Thump, thump, thump!”
“Ding! Ding——!”
However, before Saito could finish his words, he was interrupted by a noise outside the window.
Several people in the office looked at each other and then quickly ran to the window.
Outside, I saw a group of young people dressed like bikers and wearing turbans.
Riding an exaggerated motorcycle, he circled around the entrance of Masudaya.
Some stepped on the accelerator to make the engine roar, some honked the horn continuously, and some whistled non-stop.
In just two minutes, a large group of people had gathered at the door.
They did not enter the interior of Masuda-ya, but just wandered around outside.
However, whenever an employee came in or out, this group of people would intimidate them in a ferocious manner.
What's worse, when female employees pass by, whistles and obscenities are heard.
The female employees were so frightened that their faces turned pale, and some even burst into tears.
"What a bunch of bastards!" Saito Haru started cursing subconsciously.
The leader below seemed to have heard Saito's curse, and he turned his eyes to look at the window upstairs.
Under the shocked and angry gazes of Saito and the others, he pulled out a handheld game console from his arms, threw it under his feet and crushed it hard.
Then with a whistle, the large group rumbled away on their motorcycles.
Saito saw clearly the handheld game console on the ground. It was a product of Masudaya.
