Boss Ma's actions were indeed swift.
While Li Mu was busy supervising the preparations for the "Taobao First National Webmaster Conference", the litigation team hired by Boss Ma had already written a joint complaint for the over two hundred sellers in the form of legal aid and submitted it to the District People's Court where Makino Technology was registered.
Rumor had it that the litigation team represented over two hundred sellers whose stores were blocked by Taobao and sued Makino Technology for "infringement of personal virtual property", demanding that Makino Technology unblock all of the sellers' YY accounts of the plaintiffs.
This was the first time that the District People's Court had received a civil lawsuit on the grounds of "infringement of personal virtual property". Before this, no one had ever sued internet products as personal virtual property. Therefore, there was no precedent that could be used for reference. The staff of the District People's Court felt that this was a bit tricky.
The judges of the District People's Court had a closed-door meeting to discuss the specific details of this lawsuit.
The president of the Commercial Division of the Civil Court should be the person directly in charge of this case according to procedure. He was in charge of the cases and judges of the Civil Court, so he was also the one who was under the most pressure.
During the closed-door meeting, the president said cautiously, "Everyone, according to the rules, our District Court must give a clear reply to the other party within seven working days whether or not to accept this case. Not only does this case not have similar precedents that can be used for reference, but it also involves the most powerful and most respected Internet company in the country and even in the world, Hua Xia. If we accept this case, it is very likely that Makino Technology will be pushed to the teeth of the storm. This is a star company that the whole country pays attention to. If we don't handle this well, it will have a huge impact on our District Court!"
The other leaders of the district court were also at their wits' end. This case was indeed tricky. On one hand, there was a group of more than two hundred people, and on the other hand, there was the most prestigious celebrity company in the country. If they did not accept this case, there was no telling what would happen to these two hundred people. If they accepted this case, not only would it mean that the court had subjectively accepted the plaintiff's claim of "personal virtual property", but it would also personally push this celebrity company to the teeth of the storm.
At this time, a leader of the district court said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have checked all the judicial records related to Makino Technology. So far, I have not found that Makino Technology has been involved in any judicial proceedings. What is certain is that Makino Technology is not only a star enterprise, but also a very clean one. If our district court accepts this case, then the title of the first judicial case of Makino Technology will fall on our district court."
As soon as these words came out, everyone's expression turned cold.
Hua Xia was very particular about the first time in everything. If it was a good first time, then it would be fine. If it was a bad one, then it might be a lifelong grudge.
Besides, no one wanted to smear the reputation of a star enterprise on their own initiative. If it was not handled properly, it might bring about lasting negative effects.
All of a sudden, everyone was in a dilemma. No one wanted to get involved in this mess, but there was no other way. After all, Makino Technology was registered within the jurisdiction of the district court. This case could not be avoided by the district court at all.
Everyone was silent for a moment. Suddenly, a judge who had studied economics said, "Why don't we communicate with Makino Technology in advance? I don't think this case is a big deal. It's nothing more than more than more than two hundred plaintiffs who want their YY accounts back. Makino Technology is now at the height of its fame. It's really not worth getting involved in such a case. It's better to settle it out of court."
As he said this, the judge added, "And don't forget the legal principles. Although there is no specific precedent before this, I personally feel that from a legal point of view, the plaintiff's request is reasonable. Although online accounts and online assets are virtual, they also have their value and personal privacy. I think such virtual items will be included in the category of personal property sooner or later. So, I personally feel that if Makino Technology is not willing to take a step back, after seven working days, we still have to accept this case and let Makino Technology become the defendant. Otherwise, once we reject the plaintiff's request, we are likely to become a negative example in the future domestic virtual property protection law and related cases."
Everyone agreed with what the judge said. If the district court rejected the plaintiff's request on the grounds that virtual property was not protected by the law, then once virtual property was protected by the law in the future, he would become a negative example, and he would forever be a negative example.
All the people present were experienced law students, and they were particularly sensitive. Everyone knew very well that it was only a matter of time before virtual property was recognized by the law, not a matter of right or wrong.
At this time, the president of the Civil Division was the first to break the silence. He said, "It seems that if we continue to delay, we basically can't avoid accepting this case within seven days. At that time, an out-of-court settlement is also a solution. As long as this case is not taken to court, it will not have a big impact on Makino Technology. I believe that the people of Makino Technology will also have a clear judgment."
The president nodded and said, "That's it. Let's first contact Makino Technology in private and tell them the situation of the case and the plaintiff's request. Try to persuade them to solve the problem outside the court. If they really want to go to court, it will be Makino Technology's own choice. They can't blame us."
…
It was quite difficult for the district court to contact Li Mu, and the district court could not directly contact Makino Technology through normal channels. Therefore, after going through many connections, they finally passed the information to Li Mu's personal assistant, Li Ziwei.
Li Ziwei felt that this matter had a great impact on Makino Technology, so after receiving the news, she immediately conveyed the news to Li Mu.
The news that more than two hundred sellers jointly sued Makino Technology was known to Makino Technology was actually earlier than the district court. This was because more than two hundred Taobao sellers had undercover sellers planted by Taobao. Several of the undercover sellers had also participated in the joint lawsuit. Therefore, when Boss Ma began to add fuel to the fire, Li Mu already knew his behavior like the back of his hand.
Li Mu could conclude that Boss Ma was now deeply involved. Now it was not these more than two hundred sellers who were wrestling with Makino Technology, but Boss Ma who was wrestling with Makino Technology behind the scenes.
For Li Mu, the next thing to do was to let Boss Ma win, and it was better to let him win with satisfaction.
In this regard, Lei Jianguo gave his own suggestion, "I think it's better to agree to a settlement out of court. It's best not to really go to court. On the one hand, it's for the reputation of Makino Technology. On the other hand, we have to be wary of Boss Ma taking advantage of this time to make a fuss. If he takes this opportunity to gain popularity, it will be too disgusting."
Li Mu agreed and said, "If we really go to court, the whole process will be too long. I personally prefer to let Boss Ma win quickly."
Lei Jianguo asked Li Mu, "Li Zong, do you have a suitable solution now?"
Li Mu smacked his lips and said, "There is a rough solution, which is to slap my own face."
Lei Jianguo asked with a smile, "How?"
Li Mu said with a smile, "Release the news first. Just say that I have heard that more than two hundred sellers have jointly sued, but Makino Technology will not make any compromises. Everything will be decided by the law."
As he said this, Li Mu added, "The tougher my attitude is, the more it will stimulate Boss Ma's fighting spirit. At that time, he will definitely put more energy into it. When the court officially accepts the case, I will immediately ask Makino Technology to unban all the numbers of more than two hundred sellers. At that time, there will be no announcement, and there will not be any settlement out of court. Just directly unban them. Let Boss Ma know that I admit defeat."
Lei Jianguo nodded. "If you slap your own face like this, it will definitely give Boss Ma the illusion that he is the one who slapped your face."
Li Mu said with a smile, "This is the effect I want."
…
The district court soon received news from Makino Technology. It was said that this news came from Li Mu himself. The content of the news was very simple. There was only one sentence: "Makino Technology will never compromise with fake sellers."
This simple sentence completely sealed the possibility of a settlement out of court.
Li Mu's thinking was very simple. If he wanted to dig the biggest trap for Boss Ma, he had to be a little bit more aggrieved. He had to show off first and then restrain later. He had to let Boss Ma have his fun first.
Facing Li Mu's tough attitude, the leaders of the district court were extremely helpless. They held another internal discussion meeting and finally decided that since Li Mu was not willing to compromise, and they had already informed him in advance, the only way left was to accept the case.
It was already a trend for virtual property to be protected by the law. Although there were no clear legal provisions, anyone could guess the future direction of the law in this regard. The district court did not dare to go against the law. It could only keep up with the trend and walk in the forefront in this kind of precedent-setting case.
Boss Ma's litigation team had been in the judicial field for many years. They had all kinds of connections, so they quickly heard the latest news from the district court. When he heard that Li Mu firmly refused the district court's suggestion of a settlement out of court, Boss Ma was not surprised at all.
After competing with Li Mu for so long, Boss Ma thought he knew Li Mu very well. In his opinion, although Li Mu was a standard doer, he was also a very conceited and dignified person. The possibility of making him bow down was almost zero.
However, the more tough Li Mu was, the more Boss Ma wanted to reduce his prestige. He had the mentality of a honey badger who was not afraid of anything and would follow his target to the ends of the earth.
However, after such a long time of competition, Boss Ma had changed from wanting to completely defeat Li Mu and replace him to only wanting to win against Li Mu. This time, Boss Ma was extremely eager to win this battle.
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