America 1982-Chapter 140 - 46: Pleasant Cooperation_4

Tommy made a gesture of spreading his hands open, "No, I don’t want to take anything, no compensation. Actor Corporation, a small firm focused on public interest, isn’t in it for the claims, not for the settlement fees. If Lotus Corporation wants to resolve our countersuit, it’s simple: reveal their development progress and code to prove their innocence. Actor revealing OSS software has no impact on me, but if Lotus does it, it’s like being stripped naked. Their main business would be exposed for all to see, and if they refuse to make it public, at that point, for the major software companies that are salivating over Lotus’s market and looking for any opportunity to kick them while they’re down, only an idiot wouldn’t join as a second wave of amici, attacking viciously based on the vulnerabilities Lotus has revealed, not resting until Lotus is hit hard even without using Actor’s hands."

"You’ve done so much, yet you really never thought about taking advantage for yourself? Even to this point, you and Actor Corporation are just tools conveniently used by those larger firms, and for free at that." Delia said, her voice tinged with excitement, and she unconsciously licked her lips.

Tommy laughed, "No, those big corporations will use the war between the insect, Actor, and the elephant, Lotus, to settle the second potential landmark issue in the computer software industry: whether software standards should be unified or fragmented. If Lotus refuses to open up, it means they choose fragmentation. Naturally, the big companies know better than me how to strike at Lotus. Eating prey doesn’t require teaching; feeding is an instinct to life."

"In 1979, IBM nearly became an elephant like Lotus Corporation. Eventually, it preferred to lose a portion of its benefits rather than become a target for mass attack. They sued Oracle and then quickly withdrew, not because they wanted to reconcile with Oracle, but because they were waiting for the law to be refined to camouflage them properly and then strike at Oracle more safely, avoiding the situation Lotus faces today, where industry companies want to eat them just for the sake of opportunity," Sophia suddenly recalled the incident from 1979 that Tommy had mentioned to her, which had been quickly resolved as soon as it occurred. She looked at Tommy in shock and then spoke,

"From the very first day Actor Corporation was established, it was essentially for... helping those companies you speak of building ecosystems to find prey, then replacing them."

"The outcome I want is that, whether software standards are unified or fragmented in the future, it will have nothing to do with Lotus Corporation. They will be left out, replaced by the weaker, harmless Actor Corporation which will, by virtue of this case, replace them and participate in the drafting of computer software standards, particularly the subdivision of office software standards." Tommy ignored Sophia’s words and turned to Delia:

"At that time, I can say to all those who support Actor, ’Justice has triumphed over evil, and we have defeated capital.’"

Delia gave a heavy sigh, "Actor is a small company at the center of the storm, are you sure it can still exist after Lotus is dealt with?"

"Certain, it’s only as weak as I need it to be when weak. I have already asked the Fraternity’s headquarters staff to get in touch with Henry Pero, an alumnus from Stanford. His EDS has always served as a contractor, providing office system support to the United States Government. Although not self-developed, he would be interested in getting involved with software standards. If he’s not interested, I still have another friend. By then, Actor will have gone through the toughest times for me, and I can let him invest twenty million in Actor."

"All right, stop basking in the perfect future. Right now, I care about one thing: how much are you willing to pay me, Tommy?" Delia cut Tommy off, smiling, "I’m very interested in this case, but obviously, don’t think about getting my help without money."

Tommy also laughed, "It’s so delightful to discuss justice, public interest, and such, yet in the end, it’s inevitably reduced to material concerns. Ms. Case, your greedy countenance wounds me a little."

"My consulting fee is $260 an hour. Based on the procedural time of previous cases, during the evidence collection and disclosure phase, it would be about 120 total work hours, amounting to roughly $32,000. This doesn’t include the fees of hiring other lawyers to form a team, employing professional investigation agencies for evidence collection. During trial, I would personally be working around 175 hours, which would cost about $46,000. Your countersuit or appeal would take roughly 120 hours, which is $32,000. In court confrontations to fight for the employer’s victory or to set obstacles for the opposition, various motions might need to be filed with the court, which is an undetermined expenditure. Roughly speaking, just to have me accompany you through the entire case from start to finish, it would be about $200,000. Other legal team and evidence collection fees would require at least another $200,000, which totals $400,000. This is just a best-case scenario quote. If the other side delays and extends various times, it will all quickly rise," Delia told Tommy with a smile:

"Of course, you don’t have to pay the full amount, but if you want to sign a contract with this law firm, you have to pay a minimum of $100,000 for the initial fee."

"If you don’t mind giving me a detailed quote and are not worried about me publicly disclosing your fees, I think the price is reasonable. You know I’m a person dedicated to public welfare, not likely to spend that much myself, so..." Tommy rubbed his hands together, "I’ll have to get other people to come up with that money, like selling the software to supporters in Florida, or those one hundred seventy-six organizations? Or some other payment methods. But rest assured, I certainly won’t bail on money owed to lawyers."

"The company’s startup capital came from Stanford University’s entrepreneurship support funds, and the legal fees to sue Lotus Corporation were raised by peddling software that infringed on Lotus’s rights. Lose the lawsuit, and you personally don’t bear any guilt; win, and you reap all the fame and fortune." Delia looked at the youth in front of her, dressed in a cold demeanor, as though not knowing how to judge him, and finally could only sigh,

"You shouldn’t bully those poor programmers; you should study political science and become a politician."

"If I were a politician, you’d have to be more careful, Ms. Case; politicians won’t pay their bills easily." Tommy stood up, walked up to Delia, and extended his hand, "Pleasure doing business."

Delia didn’t pay heed to Tommy’s jest, stood up, and shook hands with Tommy, "Pleasure doing business."