COO Liu's Method

Inside a star-rated hotel in Bin City.

COO Liu was leisurely working on the living room sofa, sipping coffee and wearing a bathrobe.

He was holding a phone in his hand, talking at length.

"Yes, so that game isn't actually called Death Time, it's called Dead Space."

"That's true. It's just a name. The name isn't important. What's important is popularity and buzz."

"Haha, that's true. Maybe the movie will be out by then, but the game might not even be finished yet. Director Jin, you know about this too?"

"That's fine. I'll only be staying in Bin City for about 3 more days at most. Director Jin, when is a convenient time for us to meet and chat?"

"No problem, it's settled then, Director Jin!"

The two exchanged a few more words before hanging up the phone.

After the call ended, COO Liu tossed his phone aside, picked up his coffee, took a sip, and looked quite content.

He then crossed his legs, leaned back on the sofa, and closed his eyes to rest.

"I really didn't expect that a business trip to Bin City would lead to such a deal. Twenty-six million for a film and television adaptation right, wow."

COO Liu grinned slightly.

Through his conversation with Director Jin, he asked him why, if he wanted to promote new talent through film and television dramas, he didn't just hire a screenwriter to write a melodramatic romance drama, but instead adapted a game into a movie.

Although COO Liu, is not in the entertainment industry and has never watched those melodramatic dramas, he knows that young male idols rely on these kinds of love stories to attract young audiences.

The only difference is that some are modern romance dramas and some are period romance dramas.

Director Jin simply smiled and patiently explained to him.

People say that it's harder to make it in this industry now, and that newcomers in various companies debut by relying on romance dramas and a handsome, aloof persona.

Everyone in the industry does it this way, to the point that whether an artist can succeed now depends entirely on whether their face passes the test.

Therefore, to stand out in such circumstances, you have to be creative and come up with something unique.

So, adapting video games into movies is actually a good option for testing the waters.

It was a success, bringing benefits to both gamers and viewers/fans.

If it fails, that's okay. The artist has already been launched, the reputation has been established, and all that's left is to work things out gradually.

Of course, the game's storyline must conform to the current entertainment industry market.

In other words, it's all about love.

Furthermore, celebrities cannot be too dirty or disheveled, as that would negatively impact their image.

After the explanation, COO Liu understood a lot.

In reality, after all that talk, it's nothing more than using the guise of a game to create a different kind of romance drama.

The key is the game as a gimmick.

Think about it, everyone else has this kind of love or that kind of love.

My house is the only one adapted from a game.

Doesn't that make the difference clear? And doesn't it pique the audience's curiosity?

Then you'll have traffic, right?

COO Liu smiled but didn't say anything.

For him, as long as he's willing to spend the money, he can modify the game however he wants.

They even hoped to buy all the copyrights to the company's hidden, unwanted games.

Only in this way can the surplus value be realized.

In short, the cooperation is progressing in the direction he planned.

But then his phone rang.

"What? You're saying we don't have any copyright?"

COO Liu was dumbfounded.

Listening to his personal secretary's report on his phone, he could hardly believe it.

"You mean, we at Infinite Network Entertainment have to provide them with channel resources and also cover the initial promotion costs? And then we just take a cut? All this time and effort, and we end up with no copyright?"

Yes, Manager Liu.

hiss--

COO Liu gasped, as if he had heard something out of the blue.

"Is this written in black and white on the contract?"

[Yes.]

COO Liu:

"Who drafted this contract? Wasn't it reviewed by the legal department?!"

COO Liu's voice was gruff, and he seemed about to roar. Even the secretary on the other end of the phone trembled slightly.

I first felt this way from that small company owner surnamed Meng, and now my boss is doing it again.

This feeling... it's enough to make me want to cry...

[She is the head of Product Operations Department II, surnamed Lian, and is female.]

"Director?"

COO Liu frowned, then raised his voice again.

"Have you explained this to her? This is the business we discussed with Tiancheng Pictures."

The secretary nodded and responded quietly.

[I did tell her, but she said she didn't have the copyright to the work and couldn't arrange it. She also asked me to tell you about this, in case your business gets disrupted.]

"That's it? No resolution?"

[Nothing available at the moment]

COO Liu took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to swear.

"Have you contacted the game company? What did they say?"

After hearing this, the secretary quickly recounted in detail how she contacted Meng Shu, without embellishing or adding her own subjective opinions.

After about ten minutes, COO Liu questioned loudly after listening to the conversation.

"You mean they don't want to transfer the copyright? And they want Infinite Network Entertainment to continue providing them with promotional channels and initial marketing expenses? Is there really such a good deal?"

The secretary was a little scared, but she continued to recount the conversation to her boss.

[Yes, they don't seem to care about our cooperation. They said even if the cooperation is terminated, they can do it themselves. They even asked you or the chairman to call them.]

"Should I call him with Manager Liang?"

COO Liu loudly expressed his dissatisfaction.

You're just a small game company, yet you've benefited so much from us Infinite Network Entertainment, and even hold the copyrights to our works?

Now, you seem more confident?

You want us to call you?

COO Liu took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

Now that things have come to this, it's a fait accompli that the copyright is no longer in our hands.

But I've already scheduled a meeting with Director Jin, so I can't just end it here, can I?

The most urgent task is to find a way to acquire the copyright so that we won't break our promise and can continue to negotiate business with Tiancheng Pictures.

The copyright fee was 26 million...

COO Liu made a decision in his mind.

"You should tell that company that we are interested in buying the rights to their Dead Space and ask them for a price."

"Remember, our maximum offer is three million."

"Once we acquire their copyrights, we'll kick them out. Infinite Network Entertainment can't continue this risky, unprofitable partnership. Understand?"

[Okay, I understand, Manager Liu.]

"Also, bring that supervisor surnamed Liu along. Since she's in charge, let her see it through to the end. She must ensure that this copyright issue is resolved for me!"

[Yes, Manager Liu!]

After saying that, COO Liu hung up the phone.

Looking at his phone and recalling his secretary's report, he still felt it was somewhat absurd.

It's important to understand that companies that partner with Infinite Network Entertainment, especially those at the small to medium scale, only have the rights to develop and produce products, not ownership.

Simply put, Infinite Network Entertainment subcontracts projects to these small and medium-sized companies, but the copyright still belongs to Infinite Network Entertainment.

Therefore, COO Liu has always believed that Dead Space was also funded by Infinite Network Entertainment and developed by Only Game.

But to my surprise, it wasn't!

In this collaboration, Infinite Network Entertainment was merely positioned as a promoter and distributor.

This was completely unexpected and forced him to face reality.

Okay, since we don't have the copyright, I'll buy yours.

Of course, that was the end of the collaboration.

The risk is too great for us to spend money on promotion like this.

If the game doesn't sell well, the promotional expenses may not be recouped.

Moreover, promotion expenses often account for the majority of the cost, ranging from over a million to tens of millions!

With such a large budget, should Infinite Network Entertainment be the first to contribute?

Can you guarantee that your game's sales will be several times higher than your advertising costs?

Therefore, from the company's perspective, COO Liu would not continue this cooperation.

At the same time, we will not allow such small companies to rely on Infinite Network Entertainment's channel resources.

After all, we're in business, not doing this for a fee after helping out.

If you want to continue the collaboration, you can't have exclusive access to the copyright.

There's no such thing as a free lunch!

An hour later, the secretary called.

COO Liu picked up the call and listened to the report.

But the news she brought made COO Liu's eyes widen in surprise.

"He said he won't sell? Not even for three million? How much does he want then?"

"He won't sell it no matter how much? What does that mean?"

The secretary on the other end of the phone didn't dare to hesitate and quickly relayed the young boss's words.

He said he doesn't want the game to be haphazardly adapted. If the opportunity arises in the future, he will personally contact film and television companies, without needing our help.

Upon hearing this, COO Liu immediately understood what he meant.

Ultimately, that small company just wanted to make all the money.

The idea of personally contacting film and television companies is simply a way of trying to prevent Infinite Network Entertainment from getting involved.

Okay, you've relied on Infinite Network Entertainment for so long, now you want to do it yourself, right?

I'll grant your wish!

COO Liu realized that he had to teach them a lesson, otherwise they would think that Infinite Network Entertainment was a pushover.

"Go tell that Only Game that our cooperation has come to an end. But don't be too blunt. Draft a notice, think about the wording, and focus on finding problems in the contract. Because Infinite Network Entertainment won't do something that's time-consuming, laborious, and risky."

"I want to see what kind of expression they'll have when Infinite Network Entertainment gets serious! Treating copyrights like their lifeblood? Fine! But don't be so helpless without Infinite Network Entertainment, that would be laughable! When they come back to us for a new collaboration, won't their copyrights still end up in our hands?"

The secretary on the other end of the phone quickly agreed, then hung up and went to carry it out.

Meanwhile, COO Liu fell into deep thought.

Although the matter has been made clear now, the copyright is still not in our hands.

I've already confirmed a meeting time with Director Jin, so I can't just break the agreement, can I?

COO Liu thought for a moment, then suddenly raised an eyebrow.

He quickly picked up his phone and sent a message to his secretary.

The secretary replied half an hour later.

COO Liu laughed as soon as he saw the content.

The above message states that the Dead Space trademark has not been registered in all 45 categories!

Only the category 41 - Education and Entertainment has been registered for the time being.

COO Liu came up with a method that would neither delay the collaboration with Director Jin nor require Only Game copyright.

That means preemptively registering the remaining 44 categories and then suing Only Game for trademark infringement!

He firmly believed that with the capabilities of Infinite Network Entertainment's legal department, they couldn't possibly handle a small company.

If they win the case, then the name "Dead Space" will rightfully belong to Infinite Network Entertainment.

The Only Game are either to change its name or to appeal, and the cycle repeats itself endlessly.

But what if you only have a name but no specific game?

This can also be solved.

Because who can guarantee that the game will be completed on schedule?

Once the contract with Director Jin is signed, his movie will be released, and my game will be 'stillborn,' which is perfectly reasonable.

After all, compared to the development cycle of a game, the filming cycle of a movie is extremely short.

Even Director Jin himself understands this principle, so by the time his movie is finished and released, the game may be gone, or it may not even be made yet.

But that's all in the future. Anyway, his movie was already a success, and he also capitalized on the initial hype and traffic of the game.

Whether or not there is a game doesn't really matter.

Director Jin was interested in the initial buzz generated by the game's name, not the game itself.

In addition, the movie's plot is mainly based on an original romance, so there's no need to worry about any problems.

The only difficulty is that the issue of changing the game's main character cannot be implemented.

However, this problem can actually be solved by Director Jin, who doesn't understand games.

Simply tell him that replacing the character models would increase Infinite Network Entertainment's development costs immeasurably, and would also increase development time many times over.

If this continues, the copyright fee may increase from the original 26 million.

Hearing this, Director Jin will probably seriously consider whether or not to do it.

In addition, if the original Dead Space were made, it would be a completely different game.

It has nothing to do with the name ' Dead Space '.

A completely new game!

So after coming up with this idea, COO Liu dialed his secretary's number.