Chapter 512: The Meaning of Criminal Law! (Thanks to the Silver-tier Patron!)

The speakerphone was turned on, and Chen Ming's voice rang out.

"Hello, Ms. Wu, I think I still need to tell you one more time: if a lawsuit is actually filed, it won't be resolved with just this little bit of money. We are still on good terms and can talk things over right now."

As soon as these words were spoken, Wu Qiuling turned her head to look at Zhou Yi, and Zhou Yi immediately laughed.

He didn't need to guess to know that this law firm had likely signed some kind of Risk Agency agreement with their client; otherwise, there was no reason for them to be so invested.

Zhou Yi didn't speak, but signaled with his eyes to Huo Pengfei beside him. Huo Pengfei naturally understood, and said, "This is Lawyer Chen, right? What exactly do you mean by 'not on good terms and can't talk things over'? Does that mean filing a lawsuit?"

Chen Ming on the other end of the phone was stunned, but still said, "That is correct. May I ask who you are..."

"I'm her dad!" Huo Pengfei said with a natural expression.

Holy crap! Zhou Mouren's gossip-loving heart exploded instantly. Sure enough, every man actually wants his girlfriend to call him 'daddy'...

He used to think that you, Huo Pengfei, were a thick-browed, big-eyed guy who wouldn't do such things; he never expected you, kid, to be like this too!

He quickly looked at Wu Qiuling, but she had no reaction.

Just as he was pondering this, Chen Ming's voice sounded from the phone: "Oh, so it's Mr. Wu. Then you really need to think about this carefully. Considering..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Fang Dazhuang: "Considering what? What is there to consider? If you want to file a lawsuit, go ahead and file it. If you aren't filing, then don't talk. Do you understand?"

Chen Ming's voice paused; he seemed not to have expected this 'Mr. Wu' to have such a temper. His voice immediately rose a notch: "Mr. Wu, I am doing this out of good intentions. What kind of attitude is that?"

Huo Pengfei shouted back: "What kind of attitude? You tell me what your attitude is first. You call this good intentions? If you really had good intentions, you shouldn't have taken this case!"

Although he, Huo Pengfei, wasn't exactly a saint, he wasn't desperate enough to take just anything. A case like this, which was essentially just a shakedown, would make people laugh just hearing about it.

Lawyers are called 'litigation pests', and there is a reason for that.

"Mr. Wu, since you have this attitude, then we have nothing to talk about. I must remind you that if Intellectual Property Rights infringement is serious, it may be suspected of being a crime. Do you know that?"

Zhou Yi had been standing by, casually watching the show. It was just Trademark Squatting; it wasn't a big problem.

But he didn't expect that this lawyer—he didn't know if his brain was malfunctioning—would actually start threatening people over the phone?

Therefore, Zhou Yi leaned in and said:

"Lawyer Chen, are you threatening me right now? Fine, so these days people can just bully others by relying on this, right? I don't know if this is your intention or your client's intention, but let's take our time."

After saying this, Zhou Yi hung up the phone.

He immediately took out his phone and dialed Fang Dazhuang: "Hello, Fang Dazhuang, I have a matter I need to consult you about. Do you know about Trademark Squatting? Do we have any good ways to deal with this kind of behavior?"

After all, it was just a small matter; there was no need to go to Lao Difang to discuss it. Asking about the situation over the phone was enough.

If even Fang Dazhuang didn't have a good way, then they would just have to go to court. When they fought the lawsuit against the other party, at the very least, they would get the trademark back.

Fang Dazhuang's voice sounded, still as reliable as ever: "Trademark Squatting? Of course I know it. What's wrong? Is there someone bold enough to try and shake you down?"

Fang Dazhuang's words revealed his disbelief; he didn't think anyone currently dared to act like a thug toward Zhou Yi.

"They tried, then chickened out afterward. But that was just with me. Toward others, those people's attitudes are completely different. One of my Company's Employees is in that situation, and the lawyer on the other side even threatened that if they didn't agree, they might go to jail..."

"Go to jail?" Fang Dazhuang's tone carried a hint of amusement: "That's quite bold. But these people who play at Trademark Squatting have always been bold."

This was a fact. When a certain website once claimed the copyright to a photo of a national flag posted by someone selling green rice balls, you could imagine just how bold they were.

"I bet the lawyer at your Company is definitely trying to find a way for you, saying to file a lawsuit against the other party to get the trademark back. There's no problem with that; you could tie a dog to the position... anyway, you'd definitely win the lawsuit, but it might not necessarily be useful."

Zhou Yi nodded. That was indeed the case. Civil Tort is just like that; without Punitive Damages, you win, and that's all it is. The other party can just stop doing it, and that's the end of it.

"So, you have to think a bit more broadly. Remember what I said? When you encounter a problem you can't solve, remember to lean on Criminal Law!"

Of course he remembered that. It wasn't just him, Zhou Mouren; the people in the Tengda Legal Department all had this mindset now.

But as the most severe law in our country, Criminal Law certainly wouldn't apply to ordinary behavior.

"Talk to your Huo Pengfei and have him look it up. Isn't there a crime called 'Sabotage of Production and Business'? I won't say anything more. If you can figure it out, then go do it."

Fang Dazhuang hung up the phone. Zhou Yi looked at Huo Pengfei and said: "Old Huo, do you know there is a crime called 'Sabotage of Production and Business'?"

"'Sabotage of Production and Business'?" Huo Pengfei nodded and said: "Of course I know it. Did Teacher Fang say that?"

"Their behavior doesn't seem to count as 'Sabotage of Production and Business'... wait, I understand what Teacher Fang means!"

This is the power of the 'catch-all' provision in Criminal Law!

Just hearing the name of this crime, you know it's a bit 'ancient'. It was originally aimed at that kind of substantive behavior that destroys production and business.

For example, smashing the machines in someone's factory or something else that makes it impossible for production and business activities to continue.

But just like the crime of Teaching Criminal Methods, as time has passed and the internet has highly developed, the scope of these crimes has also expanded.

Production and business activities in the internet age and the production and business activities in factories of the past are two completely different models.

"For an internet celebrity and Self-Media creator like you, President Zhou, filming videos and posting them online for everyone to watch—this is a type of production and business activity!"

"And the process of the other party preemptively registering the trademark to force you to cancel your account is exactly the act of sabotaging your production and business activities!"

Huo Pengfei's explanation was a bit convoluted, not as precise as Fang Dazhuang's, but Zhou Yi understood.

Production and business is a continuous concept, and in the internet age, it has taken on new connotations. Therefore, the sabotage of this process should, by reason, be subject to the strike of Criminal Law!

However, this was only a purely theoretical idea. Relying on just this mouth to convince the Public Security Bureau to initiate a Case Filing was definitely not enough.

"So, President Zhou, do you want to do this? If we do, it will cost a lot, because we have to prove that the other party's behavior has reached the level of Serious Circumstances," Huo Pengfei continued.

And how to judge Serious Circumstances depends on the Judicial Interpretation, such as causing losses of over five thousand yuan in public or private property, or sabotaging production and business three or more times, etc...

"Let's do it. I feel that their trademark-grabbing behavior is definitely not just a one-time or two-time thing. Money is not an issue; it's just a matter of convenience."

Huo Pengfei nodded, a certain excitement appearing in his eyes. This case hadn't happened before, right? So this would be his first time?

Holy crap, Teacher Fang is just too good!

It wouldn't be convenient for Huo Pengfei to contact those internet celebrities all over the place by himself, but he could borrow Zhou Yi's account.

Online, a major influencer had already exposed the matter.

"I've used my account for years, and someone actually filed a lawsuit saying it's not mine?"

This news had already exploded on the internet like a bomb, and just like Zhou Mouren's original video, the popularity was off the charts.

The person who posted the video was an internet celebrity called 'Son of Death'. In the video, he used an extremely serious tone to tell the story.

"For no reason at all, I received such a Lawyer's Letter. The other party demanded that I stop using my account. Honestly, I was a bit panicked at the time, because after all, I'm not A Yi, and I hadn't encountered such a thing before."

"I looked into it slowly afterward and discovered that this situation is not uncommon among short-video Up Masters, because not everyone has this trademark awareness."

"I am currently collecting evidence in various ways because the other party said they want to sue me; in short, my thought is that everyone should not get involved in Internet Violence, and I should be able to take back this trademark right."

"I just feel... it really is trouble out of thin air, just like sitting at home and having a pot fall from the sky."

He is still doing okay; after all, he is a well-known internet celebrity, so if he can prove he has influence and the other party's behavior belongs to Malicious Trademark Registration, he can generally get it back.

And this kind of situation is common; those internet celebrity big Vs, one counts as one, have all experienced such things.

The comment section is truly filled with righteous indignation; in everyone's words, isn't this just "porcelain-bumping"?

"Xiao Shufu": I really think this is "porcelain-bumping"; with one word from the other party, this side has to pay a huge cost for Legal Aid, to prove that I am me, otherwise I have to pay compensation—is this reasonable?

"Wu Gou Fei Jian": These people are truly disgusting; isn't what they are doing against the law? By the way, did they send a Lawyer's Letter to A Yi...

"Yuan Jie": To the one above, even if you went crazy, they couldn't possibly send one to the Pigeon Spirit; what kind of person he is, who doesn't know?

Everyone is discussing it heatedly, and taking advantage of this momentum, quite a few internet celebrities have posted similar things; they have all encountered such situations.

Consequently, the clamor grew louder and louder, and everyone began frantically tagging A Yi, wanting to know how he views this matter.

However, A Yi has not posted any updates.

So everyone began following the Death's Child video to find the party that sent the Lawyer's Letter, and very quickly, a series of information about the other party was dug up.

"Everyone come look, it's a company called Modu Liwei Company; good heavens, you guys look at the Litigation involved, there are too many!"

Some big shots posted some of the information they found online; of course, this is not leaking information, because these are public to begin with.

Anyone can go and check the various statuses of an enterprise.

If nothing else, the volume of Litigation is just absurd.

"This really isn't just once or twice, but why isn't A Yi saying anything?"

Someone in the comment section began babbling nonsense again.

Anyway, as A Yi has become more and more serious, many people now regard him as some kind of incarnation; when they encounter anything, they want him to come out and say a few words, or do something.

And when Zhou Yi had no movement at all, words like "deliberately playing dead" appeared.

In their view, A Yi, you have your status today because you are serious, so now that such a thing has happened, you must handle it!

Fortunately, everyone still has some brains; they don't dare to spray, they only dare to be passive-aggressive and sarcastic.

However, no one thought that in the shadows, A Yi's account was constantly contacting those internet celebrities who posted updates.

In Hannan Province, in a certain city, Death's Child Yang Qing was looking through his comments and private messages when suddenly, his eyes froze, because the ID of someone who sent a private message showed as A Yi!

"A Yi sent me a message?"

He hurriedly clicked to take a look, and sure enough, it was that A Yi.

"Asking me to prepare these materials and send them to him, could it be..."

He instantly had an idea; A Yi is planning to do something big!

That's right, according to his temper, in this situation, it is definitely impossible to just let it end with a Civil Litigation, because that doesn't count as being serious, it can only be said to be taking back what you should have.

He himself had long found those "porcelain-bumping" guys unpleasant; he even said that once they win the Lawsuit, who knows how much they will have to pay.

Fine, A Yi has already intervened now, so I will just watch how you guys fight this Lawsuit!

The required materials are not few, but it doesn't matter; anyone can understand the requirements sent over, just send them over according to these.

The same thing is happening in the homes of many internet celebrities, yet no one is talking about it outside, they are just waiting there.

At this moment, there is actually a feeling of standing together against a common enemy.

After all, no matter who it is, they will hate "porcelain-bumping"!

Time passed day by day, and Chen Ming and the law firm where he works began to initiate the Lawsuit, all conducted at the Intellectual Property Rights Court in Modu.

This is the benefit; there is no need to run to the places where the Defendant is located to sue them one by one, it only needs to be done locally in Modu.

There are currently three Intellectual Property Rights Courts in the country: the Imperial Capital, Modu, and Guang City.

Another batch of Case Filing was completed, and Chen Ming stood at the door, smiling as he called Wang Li: "Basically, this batch is already finished; according to normal circumstances, they should very quickly request Mediation."

This is also experience; the previous ones were like that, as long as you really initiate a Lawsuit, they will be scared, and thereby compromise through Mediation.

On the other end of the phone, Wang Li also smiled: "Lawyer Chen, then I will trouble you; anyway, your share will definitely not be missing."

Chen Ming thought for a moment and said: "Wang Zong, some of the public opinion on the internet before scolded us a lot, so we still need to be a little careful; after all, we still have to be cautious about this current public opinion."

Before, Chen Ming even thought that since the popularity was so high, the relevant departments would take action.

Although there has never been such a situation before, one must guard against it after all; after all, what they are doing is really not a good thing.

Legally you seem to be able to make sense of it, but... in this society, there is more than just the law!

Case Filing was successful, so naturally, a Summons and Copy of the Complaint must be sent to every Defendant; Yang Qing looked at the notification of the Electronic Summons on his phone and smiled.

If it were before, he would definitely feel scared seeing this thing; this is normal.

People who have never fought a Lawsuit will definitely be scared the first time they see a Summons.

But, he is not afraid now; A Yi has already collected quite a bit of evidence on that side.

Consequently, thinking this in his heart, Yang Qing posted a screenshot of the Electronic Summons online.

"Brothers, regarding the trademark matter I mentioned before, the other party has now sued me; this is the Summons, the time is seven days later, and I will definitely go when the time comes."

Originally, the popularity of the previous matter had already gone down, and Yang Qing posting this did not make the popularity rise, because everyone's focus was no longer on this.

After all, compared to ordinary people, this kind of internet celebrity matter is still a bit too far away.

However, as if they had agreed upon it, after Yang Qing posted the screenshot, many internet celebrity Up Masters—some with a bit of fame, some with no fame at all—all posted their screenshots.

"What a coincidence, I also received a Summons; by the way, even with just this many followers, I still get 'porcelain-bumped', very helpless, but I should be in the same batch as Brother Death, on the same day."

"Oh, I am not; I am on the day after, but I will also go early, and we can gather when the time comes."

This matter involved major platforms, and thus, the popularity that wasn't there was forcibly raised!

In the eyes of the vast Netizens, this kind of "porcelain-bumping" behavior is really a bit absurd, just like those local associations that were established back then, and then wouldn't let you use the name casually.

But no matter how absurd you think it is, this thing really did happen.

It's just that I didn't expect there to be so many people.

For a time, many people's gazes were cast toward the Shanghai Internet Court.

In the words of one Netizen, we all know he is baiting for a lawsuit, so let's see how this judgment turns out; I hope there will be a live stream then, so we can all take a look.

There are quite a few people with this thought; everyone wants to see how you, the Court, will judge under these circumstances!

And it was in this atmosphere that several people arrived at the entrance of the Public Security Bureau in Dongpu District, Modu.

Leading them were Zhou Yi and Huo Pengfei, and behind them were several young people carrying huge bags—all Employees of Tenda.

As Zhou Yi pushed the door open, he said, "Lao Huo, your evidence is fine, right? I'll have you know, every time I've gone to report a case in the past, it has always been successful."

Huo Pengfei had no choice; who told him that his previous attempt to report a case hadn't been successful?

He could only say, "President Zhou, please rest assured. We spent such a huge cost to secure the evidence this time; if it still doesn't work, I'd be too embarrassed to continue being this Lawyer."

Zhou Yi smiled and said nothing, and the two entered the branch bureau.

Inside the branch bureau, a young police officer was on duty. He was stunned for a moment when he saw a crowd of people enter and hurriedly stopped them, saying, "Wait, wait, wait, what are you all here for?"

A group of six or seven people, with several of them carrying those kinds of huge handbags—this look... to be honest, it's only something you'd see here.

If you were in the United States, and added a big beard, wore a long robe, and put on a headscarf, you'd probably have experienced American-style Jiuhe before you even got inside.

Zhou Yi stepped forward and smiled, "We are here to report a case."

Report a case? The young police officer, Xiao Guo, looked at those huge handbags and subconsciously swallowed his saliva.

Although he had heard long ago that there was a guy in Jingzhou who always brought a pile of evidence every time he reported a case, he had only heard of it.

As it turned out, only after seeing it now did he feel that it probably wasn't just a legend...

"Report a case... come over here, what is the situation?" Xiao Guo let Zhou Yi and the others sit down and then began to record.

Huo Pengfei spoke up, "Officer, the situation is like this: there are three Companies here that frequently engage in trademark squatting, and then through various means..."

Why were there three? Because while investigating, they "swept the grass to scare the rabbits" and discovered that these two companies were doing the same thing, only they were more low-key, making a fortune in silence.

Huo Pengfei didn't explain in great detail, but Xiao Guo had already heard clearly.

"Trademark squatting? We probably can't handle this here; this belongs to a Civil Law dispute. You can go to the Intellectual Property Rights department to report the situation, or go to the People's Court to file a Lawsuit," Xiao Guo explained very diligently.

Bang! Accompanied by a sound, a total of three large bags were placed on the table.

"Officer, please take a look at the evidence first. We believe their behavior has already reached the level of the crime of sabotaging production and business operations. Really, for us, the situation is truly serious."

The evidence was very complete: how many trademarks the other party had squatted on, how many people they had sent a Lawyer's Letter to, how many people they had sued, and what consequences these actions caused for those people—all were very clear.

Everyone makes a living by posting videos, and now, suddenly, because of your Lawyer's Letter, we can't post videos. So, tell me, does this loss count as a loss from the crime of sabotaging production and business operations?

If you think that's far-fetched, it's simple: a contract had already been signed, and they were prepared to advertise for a sponsor.

But as a result, because of the Lawyer's Letter, they couldn't advertise, so they definitely had to bear Breach of Contract Liability. So, would you say this counts as a loss?

Xiao Guo looked at the various pieces of evidence in his hands, and his expression changed; what kind of people were they? Why did they feel so professional!

"Wait a moment, you all."

After saying that, Xiao Guo hurriedly went to call his superior. He couldn't make the decision on this matter; honestly, he hadn't even thought that this kind of squatting behavior could actually be linked to sabotaging production and business operations.

However, after this analysis, he felt it made a lot of sense!

Internet celebrities filming and posting videos—isn't that exactly a production and business operation?

The leaders of the branch bureau soon found out as well. They couldn't make up their minds—it wasn't that the evidence was insufficient, but the key was whether this behavior actually counted as sabotaging production and business operations.

Relevant personnel from the legal department were all called in. Everyone analyzed it together, and after various requests for instructions, there was finally a result.

"This kind of behavior has now seriously endangered social order and urgently needs to be cracked down on using Criminal Case means, so notify them to proceed with Case Filing."

When a certain behavior is clearly problematic but cannot be prohibited, and those people rely on it to make a fortune without any fear, then it must be cracked down on using Criminal Case means!

This is the meaning of the existence of Criminal Law; it is meant to make people afraid.

Otherwise, just paying a small fine is painless and itchy, and it cannot truly solve the problem.

Finally, after waiting at the branch bureau for about half a day, Zhou Yi and his group, who were almost falling asleep, received the Case Filing Notice.

"Let's go, this trip was worth it. There are two days left until the court session, and I don't know when they will make arrests..."

I promised three updates today yesterday; I usually do twelve thousand for three updates, and this is six thousand, with another six thousand to come, though it will definitely be after twelve o'clock. Also... thanks to that digital big brother for the silver gift; this... about this extra update... emmm thanks to Aibzai, Unenlightened Stone, Christ, Backlight, Alliance Nine Big Boss, Straight Man, Ji Leng'er, Song Family Brother, Gu Ci, Mo Yan, Book Friend 151, thanks to you brothers for the tips, thank you.

(End of this chapter)