novelraw Chapter 82 Litigation Game
Chapter 82 Litigation Game
Chapter 82 Litigation Game
Charlie Chaplin's grave in Switzerland has been dug up, and even his coffin has been stolen!
"What?" Zeke exclaimed incredulously, "Stealing a coffin? What are these people after?"
"I just heard about it too!" Christie spoke rapidly, repeatedly expressing her astonishment. "Actually, the grave was robbed on March 2nd, but the police kept it under wraps. It only recently came to light that the grave robbers contacted Chaplin's family demanding a huge ransom!"
Zik was speechless. Europe was truly surreal; was the kidnapping business really that booming?
They even kidnap dead celebrities?
Charlie Chaplin passed away last year. He lived in Los Angeles for many years and was one of the first celebrities to build a mansion in Beverly Hills and settle there permanently.
After a brief moment of reflection, the three of them went into the classroom together for class.
Thanks to Judy's patient one-on-one tutoring during this period, Zik's French level has improved by leaps and bounds, and he can now keep up with the class progress steadily.
Time flies when you're in class, and before you know it, it's afternoon and school is over.
Zeke drove Judy to her private vocal coaching studio first.
She hasn't forgotten her dream of becoming a singer and continues to practice diligently. Evelyn continues to pay for her tuition, and the relationship between the mother and daughter has improved considerably.
With Judy around, Zeke and Evelyn had to meet and communicate frequently. Although they weren't exactly close, they were finally able to put aside their differences and maintain a dignified and peaceful collaboration.
After dropping off his girlfriend, Zeke turned the car around and headed straight for the Casablanca company building.
Music video director David Fincher was working on the editing of "Sweet Dreams" in the film and television department when Zeke came to his editing room to check out the results.
After watching the entire rough cut, the overall effect basically met expectations. The atmosphere and cinematography were outstanding, but a few details differed slightly from the original Apocalypse.
"David, look at the red dot between Amanda's eyebrows."
"I want to make this red dot a separate window effect, simulating the small display screen on the front of Keith's synthesizer, and overlay another set of images in this window. You handled that part very well, you can definitely try to optimize it."
Although David is still inexperienced, he is a multi-talented individual, proficient in shooting, editing, scoring, and art direction. He can handle the entire creative process on his own, and Zeke boldly makes demands.
David frowned slightly, quickly assessing the technical difficulty, and said truthfully, "This red dot is too small, so the technical threshold for operation will be a bit high. It requires capturing the scene to make a still frame, then enlarging and overlaying layers. The final effect will most likely not achieve the smoothness of dynamic images; it will be a bit stiff."
"It's okay, just get it done first. We can accept it even if the quality is a little lower." Zike recalled the details of the original music video, which seemed to be a still image. "Also, please insert a few more exclusive shots of the domino mask. Replace all the original close-up shots of the bare eyes with the version where the person is wearing the domino mask."
"This is the core merchandise that the band will be promoting soon. I plan to use this music video to drive sales and generate buzz in advance."
David readily agreed: "No problem, it's up to you. To be honest, I really like the design of this mask; it's not only memorable but also practical."
"Haha, we're also planning to make a batch of limited edition items later, and we'll send you some then," Qi Ke promised with a smile.
"Then I'll be waiting, Zeke. Seriously, I think Spiders and this song are going to be a huge hit."
After leaving the editing room, Zeke contacted lawyer Herbert using a public phone in the parking lot.
The investigation in Casablanca yielded little result. Herbert and Allen had already returned to New York. In order to help Zeke recover his royalties and share of the profits, Herbert has recently been making intensive visits to various nightclubs that had invited the Sirens to perform, contacting local radio stations that had played the live recordings, and collecting witness testimonies and physical evidence to gradually build a complete chain of evidence.
Herbert gave a brief overview of the progress.
Zeke asked, "Herbert, can this be sorted out before the end of April?"
After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, Herbert's tone was somewhat helpless.
"I'm afraid it will be difficult, Zeke. Even if we prepare a chain of evidence, the established court procedures cannot be shortened. Is a quick resolution important to you?"
“That’s right,” Zeke didn’t hide his thoughts. “Casablanca is going to have two special episodes on The Murphy Griffin Show, disco-themed, with everyone promoting their new movie. The company is already asking me for the simultaneous TV broadcast rights to the song ‘YMCA’.”
"Although they didn't say it explicitly, it proves that Jacques Morali and the Villagers will definitely be on stage, and I will also be invited to participate as the producer of 'SweetDreams'. I hope that by then I can at least get back the producer credit and revenue from 'YMCA'."
He was filled with resentment; all those benefits and fame should have been his.
"YMCA" is a product of apocalypse, and he personally crafted and polished it from beginning to end. Jacques Morali held the title of producer but did not change a single note or adjust a single arrangement throughout the entire process; he essentially got it for free.
Even from an industry standard perspective, this appropriation is completely unreasonable. Even if Jacques Morali may be the original author of this apocalyptic work, it doesn't mean he can arbitrarily infringe upon his rights.
The Villagers Band was already incredibly popular, with constant performances. That bastard Jacques even copied the choreography from the one Zic had choreographed for the Sirens, without changing a single detail.
Seeing the other party reap fame and fortune from his work without giving him a share, Qi Ke felt no moral burden and only wanted to take back everything that belonged to him.
"Then we can only go down the out-of-court settlement route." Herbert's tone was crisp. "There's a saying in American legal circles that you've probably heard: trials are the exception, settlements are the norm." Trials are that rare tail.
Zik frowned slightly.
Out-of-court settlements are common in the United States. According to media reports, about 95% of federal civil cases are settled or otherwise resolved before a formal trial. The percentage of cases that actually go to court and are decided by a jury or judge is usually between 4% and 5%, and in some years it is even lower than 2%.
He also knew that it wasn't that Herbert was weak; that's just how the judicial system works.
However, reconciliation inevitably implies a certain degree of compromise, and the final conditions and benefits will likely be significantly reduced.
"Herbert, to be honest, do you think we have a good chance of winning?"
Herbert advised, "Zick, putting aside the high costs of litigation and time, once it goes to trial and is handed over to a jury, countless uncontrollable variables will arise."
"You can never guess what the jury is thinking. Will they like the story of the 'producer demanding unpaid wages'?"
"Won't they think you deserved it for signing such a bad contract?"
"Especially in disputes involving authorship rights, which are rather abstract and lack rigid standards, everyone's understanding is different, making it easy for each side to have its own interpretation and for the two sides to reach a stalemate."
"And it's not just a matter of chances of winning, Zick. In your case, if the trial goes through, it will take at least eighteen months. If Jacques wants to drag it out, the appeal can drag it out for another two years. By the time you get the verdict, YMCA will be on the clearance shelves of record stores."
By then, even if you win the lawsuit, you'll have lost all the profits.
"But the good news is, they don't want to go to court either. Jacques and his gang are preparing to appear on Merv's show, and Casablanca has just spent its publicity budget. Nobody wants all their dirty clothes to become court documents or even make the front page before the show airs."
"So don't even think about winning. The song and music copyrights are still in your hands. Use those as bargaining chips. We'll gather all the testimonies, prepare the lawyer's letter, and let them know we can file a case and overturn the table at any time. The most likely outcome is that we'll discuss numbers and authorship behind closed doors, sign an NDA, and break up. Casablanca will definitely lean towards this option."
After listening quietly, Zeke realized that Herbert's assessment was entirely in line with industry realities.
Casablanca invested heavily in this special program, and the "Thank God It's Friday" movie project is one of Neil's favorites; he spent Christmas on set.
Although he now has the upper hand, he really can't afford to mess things up at this time, because the royalties from just one song could destroy all the connections he's painstakingly built in Casablanca.
But then he remembered the much more damaging strategy Allen had mentioned earlier, and pressed further, "What about Allen's idea of applying to rescind the contract on the grounds of commercial fraud and coercion?"
This approach is similar to the plan Joyce and Neil suggested when they wanted to control him. If it works, the effect will be far more thorough than simply filing a lawsuit to hold someone accountable. If the unfair agreement can be overturned directly, he can accept a longer litigation process.
"It's extremely difficult." Herbert didn't mince words and pointed out the difficulties directly. "To establish commercial fraud, we must provide solid evidence to prove that Jacques had the subjective intention to deliberately seize your achievements from the very beginning of the contract."
"The most crucial piece of evidence is the village band's internal contract. You need to convince the band members to produce their contracts with Jacques' company and testify in court to prove that they were merely employees of Jacques' company. Only in this way can you establish that this transaction was a pre-meditated appropriation from the beginning, rather than a typical commercial contract dispute."
A barrage of technical jargon came rushing at him, and Zik only grasped the core concepts without fully understanding them.
"I could try contacting the members of the village band privately," Zike suggested thoughtfully. "If they can get more money, they should be willing to relent, right?"
He felt that Joyce probably had the same idea in mind, using the promise of more revenue for the members as bait to secure their management contracts.
"Theoretically feasible, but practically difficult." Herbert hesitated for a moment before speaking the truth. "You could try to win them over and get them to become co-defendants in the lawsuit against Jacques. But frankly, our firm has discussed this in meetings, and the possibility is extremely low."
"The Villagers Band's current popularity, resources, fame, and income are all dependent on Jacques' company. They can't afford the consequences of falling out with Jacques, at least most people wouldn't dare to gamble."
Qi Ke pictured the members of that masculine, bearded band. To outsiders, they appeared as a wildly popular and talented band, but only a few knew that this group was nothing more than a facade created by capital. They seemed tough and strong, but in reality, they were already firmly bound and deeply controlled, with no confidence to resist.
Expecting these gay men to join him in court to fight against Jacques's exploitation seems a bit difficult.
"We have to give it a try," Zeke said in a deep voice, not giving up. "I heard their tour will be in California soon. I'll find an opportunity to get in touch and talk to them. Herbert, let's stay in touch and keep up with each other."
After hanging up the phone, the evening breeze was cool, and my mind was heavy with worries.
Before Zeke could even find an opportunity to connect with the Villagers band, SweetDreams had already been released.
A few days later, late at night, Zeke was suddenly awakened from his deep sleep by a series of urgent phone rings.
"Zek! Our music video is on the BBC!"
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