After Reborn, I Become a Billionaire novel Chapter 1024

Chapter 1024 In Court (2) Intense Defense

"Objection!" the plaintiff's lawyer exclaimed. "The defendant's argument is mere speculation without any evidence. The so-called underdeveloped internet, the fact that the plaintiff has never been to Northfield, and the poor sales of a fashion magazine are all theoretical arguments that cannot fully explain why the defendant did not see this magazine or design. Even if only one copy of this fashion magazine was sold, it is still possible for the defendant to have seen it if they appeared in public. Such ambiguous views cannot be used as evidence in court!"
The judge nodded in agreement. "Objection sustained. The defendant's argument has some basis but there are still loopholes that can be exploited and cannot be used as legal evidence. Please ask the defendant's lawyer to present new non-infringement evidence."
The defendant's lawyer nodded.
Minerva smiled brightly at her mouth. Plagiarism was an ironclad fact, and Besse would only embarrass herself more by trying to argue against it.
"I have a question for the plaintiff," said Besse's lawyer.
"Permission granted."
Facing Minerva, Besse's lawyer asked, "Miss Bird, this magazine was published eight years ago and went out of business five years ago. It disappeared from circulation after that period too. You only have a copy because you deliberately collected it? If you didn't collect it on purpose then does that mean we will never see this magazine again?"
"Even though it was published eight years ago and went out of business five years ago, once something is released into circulation on market shelves then anything could happen," Minerva said fiercely. "It could appear anywhere including in front of Besse! For designers like her who just take one glance at something before copying its design, they won't forget even after many years."
"So Miss Bird means my client saw your design eight years ago then kept it in her mind until recently when she 'designed' something similar?" asked Besse's attorney.
"I'm just guessing," said Minerva with a shrug. "As for when she saw my design or how long she kept my work before using them for plagiarism, only she knows."
Besse's attorney nodded his head slightly.
He turned to face the judge and asked, "Your honour, may I ask whether there is any possibility we can find magazines from 8 years ago now?"
"Not likely," replied the judge. "But not impossible either."
"We searched for relevant information about that magazine and Miss Bird's original design through a real-time search on the Internet. Except for being mentioned by Miss Bird in the articles on her social media page to accuse Miss Besse of plagiarism, I can't find anything else related to this magazine, which is enough to show that this magazine was only circulated in paper and never exist online." Besse's lawyer respectfully handed over the evidence he prepared. "Your honour, please take a look."
The jury conducts began to check the evidence.
The judge said, "The Internet is not the only way of dissemination, and it can only be used as a basis for your defence this time, but it is not enough to show that the defendant has not seen this magazine."
"Of course. So I have a second piece of evidence. Please allow my witness to appear in court, Your Honor."
"Yes, please."
A middle-aged man appeared in court.
The defendant's lawyer asked, "Who are you and what is your name?"
"I am the former director of Water Ripple Design Magazine, my name is Len Shaw." The man replied.
"Did you publish this magazine back then?"
"Yes."
"How were its sales at that time?"
"Not good." Len said, "Fashion magazines were not popular 8 years ago, the readers preferred to read emotional content. Magazines like ours that specialized in fashion had closed down one after another, and we were no exception. We declared bankruptcy 5 years ago."
"Then do you remember the sales volume of this magazine at that time?"
"It is said that 2, 000 volumes had been issued, but in fact, no more than 500 volumes had been circulated on the market. We had bought the rest internally, and some of them had even been used as waste books to recycle." Said Len.
"Are you sure you did not misremember what happened 8 years ago?" the defendant's lawyer confirmed.
"Yes, I'm sure. That was the volume having the lowest sales in the history of Water Ripple Design. And, since that volume, we realized that the market for fashion magazines was getting smaller. Although we had persisted in doing it for another three years, that was just faith."
"It wasn't popular with readers in the market. But how did it go in the industry?"
"It didn't work either. It was not highly regarded by the insiders. It was released without any buzz and sank right away." Len added, "The trend and aesthetics were not as advanced as they are now. Looking back now, Phantom's Angel series is truly a cutting-edge existence."
Minerva began to smirk as she received unexpected praise.
"From Mr Shaw's answer, it can be confirmed that the actual sales of this magazine at that time were only 500 copies, and no one in the industry paid attention to it. It can be said that it sank right after its release."
"That's correct." nodded Len Shaw. "Now seeing how popular the Angel series is selling, I regret our lack of foresight back then."
"So, Mr Shaw, in your professional opinion, do you think the Angel collection is plagiarism?"
"Yes, 100% plagiarized," Len affirmed confidently. "As a designer for many years with my experience speaking for me, two works so similar cannot exist without plagiarism."
As soon as he finished speaking, Minerva and her lawyer couldn't help but sneer, thinking that Besse's lawyer was hoisting themselves with their own petard. And so did the audience think.
Susan became angry, "Is this lawyer even professional? Did Minerva bribe her?!"
"Keep watching." Manuel reminded her to stay quiet. Susan held back her anger and chose silence instead.
The defendant's lawyer continued as "I just want to get an answer from a professional here. Finally, I would like to ask Mr Shaw another question."
"Okay," replied Len.
"In your experience as a designer, how long will it take for this magazine to disappear from circulation?"
"At most six months," answered Len confidently. "Firstly because of the low sales volume; secondly because there has been no ripple effect in the industry; insisting on half a year is already extreme. It is possible that within three months or less, this magazine had completely disappeared from the market since magazines update quickly along with changing trends in design."
"So you mean this magazine will circulate on the market for up to six months?"
"Yes."
"And if my client had copied it then, she would have seen it within these six months." The plaintiff's attorney made himself clear.