Chapter 361: Listening for the Subtext (Seeking Monthly Votes)

The scene at the court trial was as boring as ever.

After all, watching two people constantly submitting evidence there, followed by the other side denying everything in various ways, makes one feel that the image of lawyers in their minds has suddenly collapsed.

Of course, it is quite obvious that many people are here to watch because of the hype.

As for the audience of Zhou Yi, many of them have watched previous live-streamed trials, so they are very clear that a court trial is truly this boring.

It is not like what is portrayed in TV dramas, where the lawyer is impassioned up there, with a voice so loud it seems like they could shake the house down, and that makes them right.

In a court trial, one must still speak with evidence.

Many people who have participated in court trials actually do not quite understand the process of presenting and cross-examining evidence.

For example, in this trial, the two pieces of evidence Zhou Xinran first produced were not the testing evidence they were familiar with from Zhou Yi, nor the test report from the Third-party Testing Agency.

Instead, what were they? The first piece of evidence was the evidence of Oupian Company releasing the Oupian Phone, proving that the Oupian Phone is a phone produced and sold by Oupian Company.

The second piece of evidence was a pile of shopping receipts Zhou Yi received after buying phones at an offline store of Oupian Company, and the third piece of evidence was a video of a pile of unopened Oupian Phones being unboxed on-site and distributed to Company employees to begin testing.

These two pieces of evidence were to prove that the phones used for the Company's testing were bought directly from Oupian Company, and were tested directly without going through any procedures.

There is a problem here: when Zhou Yi previously had Company employees conduct tests, he had them film their own phone test results, and that evidence clearly could not be used.

When it was taken for Notarization back then, it was rejected because without these preceding procedures, you cannot prove that the so-called undeletable Apps in these phones were installed by the phone Manufacturer.

Therefore, the only evidence brought to court were the test results of those new phones.

Fortunately... these phones all had Slow Application.

To many people who have never been involved in Litigation, this seems like an unnecessary, roundabout task; how could our phones possibly come with those un-uninstallable things pre-installed?

But this is actually necessary evidence, because you might not have done it, but who knows if a dealer might have.

Note that this refers to dealers, not the direct-sale stores operated by Oupian Company itself.

So the other side naturally had no objections to this evidence.

Then came the key evidence: the test video, the test showing that pre-installed software on the phones could not be uninstalled, and the test results from a professional Third-party Testing Agency.

"We have no objection to the authenticity of the evidence, but we have objections to its probative value!"

Why the objection? Lawyer Zhang spoke up directly: "First point, the test sample is too small; only a single model of phone was tested."

"Second point, regarding the uninstallation method, only a few methods were chosen, such as screen uninstallation and uninstallation within application management; no other uninstallation methods were adopted, so our side does not recognize the probative value of these two pieces of evidence!"

What does this mean? It means my phone does have other ways to be uninstalled, but you didn't use them in your video, so your video can only prove that these pre-installed software cannot be uninstalled using the methods in the test, but it cannot prove that these pre-installed software are completely impossible to uninstall!

You should be able to understand now.

As for how to uninstall them, there must certainly be a way; if a phone Manufacturer didn't even have that for their own product, then there's no point in playing this game.

This was the evidence presentation and cross-examination stage, and Fang Dazhuang did not speak.

But the onlookers watching the live stream could already barely hold back.

"Holy crap, this guy is just quibbling, right? They used so many methods to uninstall and still couldn't; do we have to learn programming just to uninstall software on our own phones?"

"Is this what a trial is? Why do I feel... why do I feel like someone is being unreasonable? Why isn't Fang Dazhuang saying anything? I feel like if I were there, it would probably turn into a brawl very quickly."

Unlike the righteous indignation of the Netizens, Zhou Yi was very calm, and even began discussing the logical relationships within this with the older brother who had also come to observe.

As long as it can be deduced logically, you cannot say that the other party's Debate is problematic.

Soon, the cross-examination concluded, and the judge for today's trial, Wang Pengju, spoke: "We will now begin the Court Debate."

Finally reaching this step, Fang Dazhuang flexed his wrists, causing Zhang Minghua opposite him to suddenly widen his eyes.

A debate is a debate, let's not resort to physical force!

Both being in Modu, one a big shot in the field of Criminal Case defense, the other a top talent in the field of Civil Law, Zhang Minghua was very clear about the stories surrounding this peer.

The field of criminal law has always been a disaster area for conflicts; a certain lawyer gets beaten up by the victim's family right after walking out of court having defended a Defendant, or a certain lawyer goes to seek forgiveness and gets pummeled by the victim's family...

Or even a certain lawyer getting beaten by the victim's family in the courtroom because the defense was successful...

There are really too many. Why many lawyers don't want to do criminal defense now, or even if they do, they act according to the situation and defend symbolically, is precisely because of this.

If you successfully defend a criminal, it would be strange if they didn't beat the crap out of you...

This man surnamed Fang is an exception.

Because he is very good at fighting; whether in court, after leaving, or at other times, if others try to start something with him, that person will definitely not come out on top.

Not only that, the person who hits him might even end up in Detention...

Fang Dazhuang, however, was unaware of the inexplicable thoughts of the lawyer opposite him and simply began his own exposition.

"The Defendant claims that our evidence testing did not use other testing methods, so it cannot prove that these software cannot be uninstalled. However, according to the most basic logical principles, we have already adopted every method a normal consumer could think of to uninstall them, and they still could not be uninstalled; therefore, it should be deemed as impossible to uninstall!"

"Furthermore, according to the principle of good faith in the Civil Code and the relevant provisions of the Consumer Rights Protection Law, when the pre-installed software on this phone cannot be uninstalled by normal methods, the phone Manufacturer should inform the user of the uninstallation methods!"

"Therefore, our side believes that under such circumstances, the test results are sufficient to prove that several types of pre-installed software cannot be uninstalled!"

Zhang Minghua naturally would not be outdone and began to refute as well.

"The Plaintiff's claim that it should be deemed impossible to uninstall simply because they did not find other uninstallation methods is, in my opinion, devoid of any logic!"

"Because most pre-installed software is related to the phone system, the uninstallation process is relatively cumbersome; this is common knowledge. Therefore, the Plaintiff's claim that they exhausted all uninstallation methods does not explain anything; it only proves that their test evidence is insufficient to prove that these software cannot be uninstalled."

This was Zhang Minghua's line of reasoning for the debate. From the very beginning, he had no intention of using arguments like "economic development" or "these software are system software and therefore cannot be uninstalled."

Times are different now. If this were before the regulations from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology were issued, he would certainly have used those arguments for the debate.

You say it's not system software? We have evidence, procedural evidence to prove that these pre-installed software are inextricably linked to the phone system, and without these software, the basic functions of the phone would be affected.

That would have been fine back then, but it won't work now.

If you say that now, the other side will bring out the regulations from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and that is simply courting death. By then, if a complaint is filed with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, it's over; it would be even more miserable than losing a Public Interest Litigation...

A brilliant lawyer must avoid letting their client fall into an unfavorable situation.

One cannot be like that certain lawyer surnamed Zhang, where it was originally fine to just pay compensation, but after debating and debating, it inexplicably turned into twenty years.

So one can only say that our software must be uninstallable, and the reason you didn't succeed in uninstalling it is that you didn't find the right method; that is not our fault.

"To say that because it is related to the phone system, the uninstallation process is cumbersome, I believe this argument from the Defendant is pure nonsense, let alone that it is common knowledge, because there is no evidence to prove that these software are related to the phone system, or that they fall under the legally stipulated circumstances of 'should have a cumbersome uninstallation process'."

Not to mention that there is no such regulation at all.

Both sides began a battle of wits!

It must be said, even Zhou Yi could see that this Lawyer Zhang Minghua was a match for Fang Dazhuang.

His line of argument was very unique, and he was equally adept at citing legal provisions.

It is just a pity that legal regulations are becoming increasingly dense, and the points that can be debated are becoming fewer and fewer.

No matter how silver-tongued one is, it is impossible to convince the judge; after all, the uninstallation method provided by the Manufacturer is something a normal person would never think of...

This does not even require the use of the standard of high probability.

So, as the Debate went on, Lawyer Zhang Minghua could no longer continue.

On the contrary, Fang Dazhuang on the opposite side was now incredibly excited and invigorated!

"I ask the Defendant to produce evidence to prove that this so-called uninstallation method is something any consumer could think of. This even involves professional programming knowledge and requires at least five minutes of operation. Is this something a normal consumer could think of?"

"Furthermore, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's regulations on pre-installed software, the uninstallation method should be simple. Is this uninstallation method simple? Every time one uninstalls, a computer must be used; I do not consider this a simple method."

"Even if such an uninstallation method exists, it is of no use to the average consumer, because no one would know or should be expected to know such an uninstallation method."

"Therefore, it should be deemed as impossible to uninstall!"

Each and every sentence struck like a knife, leaving Lawyer Zhang unable to open his mouth.

He was the traditional type of Lawyer; once he could no longer find points to argue, he could not keep repeating the same old things, so this Court Debate came to an end.

At this point, the Netizens who had been watching the live stream were finally happy; at the very least, this Debate was worth it!

It also allowed people to see Fang Dazhuang's skill, layer upon layer, like a spider weaving a web, progressing step by step.

In a Debate, it is taboo to throw out the key points directly; one must first block all other paths before one can throw them out.

Otherwise, the perception of your Debate would be completely different.

The Presiding Judge announced the end of the Court Debate and then began to ask both sides if they had any final remarks.

These final remarks correspond to the final statement in a Criminal Case; of course, it does not necessarily have to be called final remarks, as sometimes the judge will ask if you have anything to add.

Fang Dazhuang naturally had none; he had said everything that needed to be said.

However, the Lawyer beside Zhang Minghua stood up and began to speak about the opinions previously held online, which was the importance of corporate development.

Why say this? Because the judge has Free Discretion, and both sides work hard to debate in order to persuade the judge.

Finally, the trial ended. This case was of great importance, and it was basically impossible to render a verdict in court, so Zhou Yi was not surprised.

And soon, there was relevant news online; after all, it was a live-streamed trial, and even an ordinary person could see who was in the right and who was not during the trial.

President Kang of Oupian Company finished watching the live stream and almost smashed another phone.

The Lawyer he spent a large sum of money to hire was useless, completely useless. Our profit margins for making phones are already so small; is it not appropriate to earn a little through pre-installed software?

In fact, no one said that pre-installed software is unreasonable, and some people even like pre-installed software.

But it is unreasonable for pre-installed software to be impossible to uninstall. It is just a pity that the profits involved are too large, and the Manufacturer selectively chooses not to see it.

The Litigation was over, but when the three of them returned to the car, Fang Dazhuang was still puzzled. He had been thinking of meeting that old Zhang later, but he never waited for him.

It was as if the other party was hiding from him. Am I that scary?

There were already many professionals online who had organized the opinions of both sides from this live stream.

It was not hard to see that a major reliance for Fang Dazhuang's side was the relevant regulations of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

This also let many people know for the first time that there were actually regulations in this regard, and they learned that our Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had actually done so many things...

Consequently, many people began to apologize again, followed by reflection.

Inadvertently, a video by Zhou Yi and a piece of Litigation by Fang Dazhuang had actually helped the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology carry out a major wave of publicity!

A few days later, the Court delivered its verdict, supporting the demands of the Handong Provincial Consumer Protection Committee: Oupian Company's mobile phone pre-installed software must have a simple uninstallation method.

It did not accept the opinion claimed by them that "pre-installed software belongs to the mobile phone system, so the uninstallation method is bound to be cumbersome," believing it lacked corresponding evidence.

Along with this news came the news that Oupian Company had announced an Appeal.

This was too normal; for many companies, it seems they are not comfortable unless they finish the Second Instance.

In the office, President Kang was holding a phone and saying something.

"We are confident about the Second Instance, right? We have new evidence? Fine, this lawsuit must be fought to the end!"

Just after finishing the call with Zhang Minghua, the office door was knocked, and the Secretary ran in in a panic, hurriedly saying: "President Kang, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has issued a document, and they are about to intervene and investigate the situation where mobile phone pre-installed software cannot be uninstalled!"

What? President Kang was stunned upon hearing this, and his face changed instantly!

One must listen to the subtext, and for companies like theirs that deal with their "dear father" often, the signal released by an intervention and investigation was already very obvious, especially at this critical moment!

If the investigation really started, it would be too late...

Stunned for three seconds, President Kang hurriedly picked up the phone: "Hello, Lawyer Zhang, about that... we are not appealing."

The second update is here. Thanks to the two big brothers, Scroll Master and Mambo, for the tips. Thank you. I'm stuck on the timing again.. emmm

(End of chapter)