Chapter 720

Do not engage in copyright trolling; this is to prevent these people from targeting ordinary citizens.

Fight among yourselves, but using ordinary citizens as targets and causing unnecessary negative social impact is unacceptable.

"Malicious lawsuits and exorbitant compensation claims are also not supported—you must not treat copyright as a tool to deliberately drain your opponent's resources," the leader added two more demands.

Malicious lawsuit means filing suit despite knowing no infringement occurred, to drain the opponent's resources; exorbitant compensation means the amount far exceeds actual losses.

When Fang Hong sued Xiao Wang, the 2 billion was reduced to 400 million.

So neither the leadership nor the courts support this—this will cause Jack Ma's plan to fail, and many of their hundreds of lawsuits may be dismissed.

For actual infringement, compensation might only be tens of thousands per lawsuit.

For non-infringement, you get nothing, and you waste your own resources, time, and money.

Jack Ma and Lao Wang Zong exchanged a glance.

But this has loopholes, because it's unclear what level constitutes malicious litigation or what amount counts as exorbitant compensation.

Right now, it's only the leader's words—the scope of copyright hasn't even been defined yet.

At the very least, they must tone it down.

The copyright war must still be fought—it's an excellent way to curb opponents—but it can't be as large-scale as before.

Letting small and medium platforms die en masse clearly aims to protect them; malicious litigation and exorbitant compensation are precisely meant to protect small and medium platforms.

How many of these big players care about resource waste? Who's short of a few million? Small and medium platforms struggle to survive—touch them once and they collapse.

"The copyright market needs healthy competition; you are all leaders in this market and must jointly maintain it," the leader declared.

"Good!"

"Alright."

"."

Everyone in the room nodded—the goal was to make them tone it down.

"The film market is the core vehicle of soft power; when films are strong, our production capabilities are strong, our international influence is strong, and it's also a crucial battleground for ideological propaganda and ideological education—thus, film is the core domain of cultural development."

"Whoever undermines the normal development of film is undermining cultural security, challenging mainstream values, standing against the state and the people, and will be dealt with seriously."

The leader explained to them the importance of film—it was a bottom line, absolutely not to be hypocritically ignored—and subtly shifted the topic to the film industry.

This copyright war originally began with film.

This also serves as a warning: don't recklessly produce things or invest in Hollywood to make ideological nonsense—this is not allowed, especially in the coming years.

Capital may have no borders, but capitalists must have borders.

They thought avoiding domestic release would solve everything, not realizing they were damaging the nation's image abroad.

Everyone in the room fell silent, their expressions turning serious—it wasn't aimed at any one person, but urged them to be more careful with investments.

"The purpose of film is output—whether domestic or international, it's about image-building, cultural dissemination, and ideological transmission. Severing ties and imposing restrictions is putting the cart before the horse. Xiao Fang, as the largest film producer, you must clearly understand this," the leader said to Fang Hong.

This was now addressing Fang Hong and Lao Wang Zong's feud—the spark of the copyright war.

They not only turned the copyright landscape upside down, but also threw the film market into chaos.

"I acknowledge my fault, Leader. I will adopt a more open attitude and work with others to jointly promote the long-term healthy development of the film content ecosystem," Fang Hong spoke eloquently.

Since the leader said so, he could only relent—but his relenting applied only to streaming platforms and distribution; cinema screenings remained open to negotiation.

Lao Wang Zong thought he could escape unscathed—how easy would that be?

"From what I understand, this entire copyright dispute originated between Xiao Fang and Lao Wang Zong—you both refused to give each other any leeway—one blocked films from the other's cinemas, the other blocked the other's films."

The leader continued: "Which cinema shows which film is a market behavior—but using market dominance to carry out malicious segmentation harms market development."

Lao Wang Zong had previously claimed this: the Principal refused to release films to his cinemas, causing market shrinkage—not his fault.

This was steering the topic toward the domestic film market!

Zhang Hongsen whispered a few words to the leader: the copyright war's trigger was the Principal cutting off Wanda Cinema's film supply.

That set off the chain of subsequent reactions.

After listening, the leader turned to Lao Wang Zong: "You just said the Principal controls the film market and your cinemas can't operate, forcing you to close—what difficulties are you facing?"

"I don't know if you're aware of the Tu Ying Conference—the Principal held this meeting targeting my Wanda Cinemas, cutting off our film supply; 90% of summer blockbusters were barred from Wanda cinemas, causing profits and audience numbers to plummet," Lao Wang Zong glanced at the Principal.

"Then why did he cut off only your cinemas and not anyone else's?" the leader countered.

Lao Wang Zong was left speechless by the counterquestion.

"There's no such thing as unprovoked hatred or unprovoked targeting. I believe Xiao Fang is reasonable—he wouldn't act arbitrarily. There must be some conflict between you two," the leader remained level-headed.

You can't rely solely on Lao Wang Zong's side of the story!

"As a shareholder of Yutu Film, I should benefit from its convenience—but I didn't. One day, the Principal suddenly tried to expel me from Yutu Film's shareholder list."

"He didn't even want to buy back my shares—he wanted to forcibly kick me out. Isn't that the kind of thing only a thief would do? Tony Ma should know—he's also a Yutu Film shareholder."

When Lao Wang Zong said this, Tony Ma stayed silent—he had no involvement in this.

Fang Hong merely smiled faintly—he could really fabricate, omitting all context and highlighting only his own faults.

Zhang Hongsen explained to the leader what Yutu Film was: a ticketing platform on the market.

The leader turned to Fang Hong: "Is this true?"

"Yes!" Fang Hong admitted without hesitation.

"And not only did the Principal cut off my film supply—he used Yutu Film's online dominance to cut off all traffic to my Wanda Cinemas. Both film supply and audience flow were severed. How am I supposed to operate?" Lao Wang Zong was now on a roll.

"So the Principal not only cut off your traffic but also convened the Tu Ying Conference to cut off your film supply?" the leader understood.

"Yes, his actions were extremely malicious," Lao Wang Zong said.

The leader turned to Fang Hong: "Is this true?"

"Yes!"

Fang Hong still admitted it, then added: "But I must clarify: this incident began when Wanda first cut off Yutu Film's screenings—I only retaliated, I didn't strike first."

"Is what he said true?" the leader asked Lao Wang Zong.

"Yes!" Lao Wang Zong nodded.

At the time, Fang Hong was focused on his son; I couldn't stand it, so I opposed the movie that excluded Jade Rabbit, and that set off the whole chain of events.

"So you've been talking all this time without mentioning you struck first, and then got bullied by the Principal all along? You're Lao Wang Zong, a major player, and you're this old—can't you speak more clearly?" The leader accused him of deliberately concealing the truth.

Lao Wang Zong lowered his head in silence—it was too embarrassing to say out loud, being bullied after trying to bully.

"The Principal bullied you like this—there must be a reason. What was it?" the leader asked.

"I once tried to acquire the Principal's Zhong family, but he refused; we had a conflict there, and he's held a grudge ever since. Later, in content production, the Principal grew too fast—we kept clashing. Everyone knows the Principal has a petty heart; now that he's powerful, revenge is only natural," Lao Wang Zong said.

"Is what he said true?" the leader asked Fang Hong again.

"Basically true," Fang Hong said.

"What do you mean, 'basically'?" the leader didn't understand.

"If I wanted revenge, I would've taken it long ago—I wouldn't have waited until today," Fang Hong said.

"Then why?" the leader asked.

"His son insulted my wife," Fang Hong said, just one sentence.

"Insulted your wife?" the leader didn't understand—over this? It caused chaos across the entire industry.

Everyone else in the room understood silently—so the Principal really did it for his wife.

The outside world had long rumored the Principal acted for his wife.

"Yes, he insulted my wife. If his son hadn't insulted my wife, I wouldn't have targeted anyone without cause—I'm not that petty," Fang Hong was refuting Lao Wang Zong's claim that he had a petty heart.

The leader ignored this and turned to Lao Wang Zong—this old bastard hadn't told the truth either.

Lao Wang Zong remained silent—his son was a scoundrel; how could he say it out loud? That's why he didn't mention it.

"All this trouble today stems entirely from the two of you. If you don't clarify the facts, you'll both face punishment," the leader's final words carried heavy weight.

Everyone in the room shuddered, some even chilled—when the leader got angry, his authority was still intimidating.

After all this fuss, after so many small platforms died, after so much economic loss, they all stood there righteous and noble—yet all it came down to was one man avenging his wife, and another avenging his son.

Who the hell wouldn't be furious!

"Leader, I have no grand ambitions—I do what I must, without hesitation, and I'm willing to contribute.

But neither I nor my family will be bullied. If we are bullied, I will make them pay back—that's the meaning of my struggle." Fang Hong said.

"You'd spare no cost?" the leader said.

"Then let me ask you, Leader—what's the point of our nation striving to grow strong and stand at the peak? Isn't it to wash away humiliation? Isn't it to avoid being bullied by Western wolves? Isn't it for the people's happiness and dignity?" Fang Hong shot back—his courage was bold.

Everyone in the room couldn't help but admire the Principal!

Even Tony Ma, who was always obedient, had to admire the Principal—for daring to ask back face-to-face, something he himself would never dare.

He used to admire Jack Ma for saying anything—he now admired the Principal a little more, for having real backbone.

Tony Ma had said himself that he admired Jack Ma for saying anything—he wouldn't dare do it himself.

The leader was momentarily stunned by the Principal's words—it did make sense.

The fundamental truth was the same: Fang Hong had to grow strong so he and his family could live with dignity and be respected.

The same was true for the nation.

If you can't earn heartfelt respect, then force and strength must make the other submit.

"So how do you want to resolve this issue?" the leader understood him.

"I once proposed his son apologize to my wife—that would've ended it. It was a fair, reasonable demand, right?

But Lao Wang Zong refused, so we went to war. I just don't get it—insult someone, apologize—isn't that natural? Isn't that right? Is it because the Lao Wang family is so noble?"

"Not only did they refuse to apologize, they came after me. Now that they've lost, they come here whining endlessly."

Fang Hong spoke with utter contempt.

"You destroyed my son's business and turned him into an enforcer—you've already taken revenge, so it should be over. But what did you do? You beat the son, then beat the father—you won't let it go. Did I miscall you petty?" Lao Wang Zong said.

"So what? I said it—the problem is the apology. No apology? I'll wipe you out," Fang Hong pointed angrily.

Fine! The two of them started arguing again.

The leader couldn't help but feel a headache—he'd come to mediate, but these two had completely different grievances.

Lao Wang Zong thought the Principal had gone too far—it should be over. The Principal wanted dignity, respect.

Of course, Lao Wang Zong was fiercely defending his son's pride—he didn't want his son apologizing to an actor, losing face entirely.

"This matter of yours—"

"Shut up, you accomplice! If you hadn't stirred things up in the middle, would it have come to this? We're sitting here today entirely because of you—you've been the blender in the middle. You're the one with the least right to speak!" Fang Hong pointed at Jack Ma.

Damn, he's always there—he was involved in the Youku conflict, back when Alibaba hadn't even acquired Youku.

He was involved in the Yan Zi conflict; in the competition with Huayi; in the clash with Wanda—every damn thing had Alibaba stirring behind the scenes.

And he pretends to be the peacemaker, standing on the moral high ground—a true blender, stirring for years!

Everyone in the room trembled inside—the Principal was utterly lawless, daring to curse two major bosses right in front of the leader with no decorum.

Earlier he accused them of betraying their own side, and it had some logic—but now he had no decorum at all.

But Alibaba was exactly like that—he hadn't been wrong. The copyright war started because of the Principal and Lao Wang Zong, but everyone with eyes knew it was Jack Ma's scheme.

He dragged them all in.

"Your words are flawed. Your feud has nothing to do with me. Fine, even if I had past grievances with you and Lao Wang Zong, iQiyi and Tencent were fighting you over copyright—were they stirred by me too?" Jack Ma was indignant—he called me a blender? You're the Weightlifting Champion now, are you?

"If you hadn't stirred up trouble, they'd just sit there staring—dare any of them move?" Fang Hong's gaze swept toward Gong Yu, Sun Zhonghuai, and Fan Luyuan.

The three met the Principal's gaze and were momentarily shaken—his aura was overwhelming.

"Laughable. You Principal overestimate yourself. iQiyi is backed by Baidu—Tony Ma is right here. How much power do you have to make them afraid to act?" Jack Ma refused to back down.

"Fine. Keep stirring. Keep throwing the whole market into chaos. I'll just play along with you," Fang Hong said, done talking.

The room fell silent again—the meeting was supposed to end, but these two had reignited the tension.

If the Principal hadn't laid it all out, it really wouldn't have been much of a big deal for Jack Ma, because it seemed Alibaba didn't really hold any copyright and hadn't been much involved — at most he'd just have to go back and keep a lower profile. But since the Principal brought it up, Jack Ma also bears responsibility in this incident.

The leaders sitting here are well aware of what he's done — Fang Hong calling him a stirrer wasn't wrong at all.

He has to stir up everything.

Lao Wang Zong was also somewhat angry, not giving him any face at all. Ever since the fight with the Principal began, his old face had been stepped on by the Principal several times.

Tony Ma was still the same, appearing very calm. Although he had also been involved on a large scale, using music to restrict everyone, he never boasted with his words.

Actually, the biggest copyright bully here is Tony Ma!

(End of this chapter)