You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 27

You Have Been Defended – Episode 27

“There’s definitely a problem.”

It took two days to finish comparing the drama and Na Eun-sung’s documents.

I don’t know if I should be glad that no requests came in during that time, but anyway, I was able to focus solely on the drama for two days because there were no other cases.

Well, reporter Yoon Se-yeon barged in to give me the interview answers in the middle, but it didn’t take up too much time.

Kang Min-jae and I thoroughly searched through copyright law precedents from time to time.

I even separately remembered and wrote down precedents that I had glimpsed in the future.

I wondered if this was a trick, but if this level *is* a trick, isn’t my ability to discern the truth an absurd scam?

“I don’t know what the lawyer thinks, but I think we have a good chance. The possibility of power and money intervening in the trial is a bit concerning, though. Writer Jung Hye-jin also has a reputation.”

I compared the 12 episodes with scripts while playing the drama, and compared the 13th episode with a summary of each episode, which was one A4 page long.

Na Eun-sung’s summary of each episode included key lines from each episode, so I was able to check for overlapping lines even in the 13th episode.

I highlighted all those parts with a fluorescent pen, and about 15 were found.

About 20 if you count the same scenes.

To add more, the personalities of the two main characters are similar, and their dressing styles are also similar.

It was not much different from the client’s comparison.

She was very objective and unbiased in her analysis.

“The female lead’s name is different by one letter, and the male lead’s name is the same. They’re so brazen.”

The female lead Ji Yoon-young is Ji Yoon-soo, and the male lead Sunwoo Joon is the same Sunwoo Joon.

I guess they really liked the name.

“The settings for the female and male leads are the same as well. They are common settings, but they used almost twenty settings as they were. It’s ridiculous if you add the episodes.”

“I think the part that contrasts the virtual rich neighborhood overlooking the shantytown is quite significant.”

The setting may be common, but the original script had special directing in that part.

The camera settings were even different to adjust the colors, and it felt like the area was clearly divided as if a line had been drawn.

There was even a long iron fence in the area overlooking the rich neighborhood.

Of course, it was an iron fence to prevent falling accidents, but the female lead feels like it is a line drawn not to be crossed.

Even if it is considered an idea area and protected, the fact that the directing is the same will be competitive enough in court.

“According to the details of the contest, all judges read all entries directly.”

“The writer is also a judge, so she must have read it. There is sufficient reliance [legal term for demonstrating access and influence].”

“In the first round, they only read the synopsis and filtered it out once, and then put the good ones in the second round and read the script, right?”

“That must have been the case. Realistically, they can’t read all of them. And it is said that all the production teams at Blue Island Media review the works selected in the second round together.”

I looked up the phone number of Blue Island Media and called.

After the introduction, I was connected immediately.

-Yes, this is Blue Island Media.

“Yes, hello. I would like to ask about the contest hosted by Blue Island Media.”

-Yes. Please speak.

“In the last contest, ten people were registered as judges, and it was stated that the production team as a whole, in addition to the judges, reviewed the works filtered out in the second round.”

-Yes, that’s right.

“I was wondering if you could tell me how many people are on the production team?”

-There are about twenty people.

“I’m worried that you’re too busy because you make so many good dramas. Unlike other contests, Blue Island Media receives eight episodes. That’s almost the length of a book… Is it possible to see all of them? I want to submit to the next contest, so I have a lot of questions.”

-We make them into books so that everyone can read them from time to time. I don’t think you need to worry about that.

“I see. By any chance, will writer Jung Hye-jin be on the judging panel next year as well? I’m a personal fan, so I really want to show it to her.”

-Ah, well. I’m not sure about that. But there are many other excellent writers. I hope you will submit even if writer Jung Hye-jin does not participate. Haha.

“Yes, thank you.”

When I put down the receiver, Kang Min-jae stared blankly at me.

“Why.”

“I didn’t recognize you—the way you spoke, your voice. You could be an actor.”

It is basic to imitate that tone when asking about things as if nothing happened.

It was also a technique I used on numerous people involved while uncovering the Wooshin corruption in my past life.

When they actually met me, they were all too busy running away.

“It seems like Blue Island is aware that they copied it.”

“Why?”

“They hinted that Jung Hye-jin might be excluded from the next contest’s judging panel.”

The employee’s words were ambiguous, but considering that they bothered to mention it when they could have just said they didn’t know, there is room for another interpretation.

Maybe they got caught red-handed, or they saw the client’s appeal after receiving a tip.

“And ten judges and twenty production team members see all the things that are filtered out in the second round. In books.”

“I guess there aren’t many works that get filtered out in the second round.”

“Maybe.”

If it were 2018, or at least around 2015, everyone would have watched it on their phones or tablets, but it is still an analog world.

“Kang.”

“Yes.”

“If we sue Blue Island Media, what do you think they’ll say?”

“They’ll deny the reliance and deny that the settings are common. Well, that’s what they’ll do. I honestly don’t think it’s worth denying the setting part, but you never know. In fact, most of the minor settings will be excluded from the substantial similarity test [legal test to determine copyright infringement]. I think the contrast between the rich neighborhood and the shantytown that you mentioned earlier will be the biggest issue. I think they will try to deny the reliance somehow.”

“What will they say while denying the reliance? It’s going to be hard to deny since they have a history of submitting to the contest.”

“Um, that’s…”

Kang was lost in thought.

But I know the answer.

“They’ll say that it was already filtered out in the first round and they only saw the beginning. They would have seen the synopsis and the introduction of the main character, but if they only saw the beginning, they could just say that the similarities in the second half are just coincidental because they are common.”

“That could be the case.”

“Or they could say that the email was missed and they never received it.”

“But you said it was marked as read.”

“They can just say that it’s a server problem.”

“I guess so. But what if we find the books that were passed in the second round?”

It’s not that I haven’t thought about it.

If they were going to plagiarize a scenario submitted to a contest and turn it into a drama, there is a high possibility that it would have passed the second round without difficulty.

The original work must have also been made into a book.

However, the contest was held last year, and Jung Hye-jin’s drama aired in March of this year.

In that case, the books would have already been discarded.

If they were going to use it for reference, they would only need the file on Jung Hye-jin’s computer.

But we can’t search Jung Hye-jin’s computer, and they may have taken measures with other devices.

“It’s been a long time since it was printed, and I think they would have quickly disposed of it because they were afraid of getting caught after they decided to plagiarize it.”

“That’s true. What if we ask the print shop? If they ever printed it.”

“First of all, I don’t know which print shop it is. And the print shop owner probably doesn’t know what they printed. They probably didn’t even look at the contents because they’re so busy.”

They wouldn’t tell us if we openly asked which print shop they do business with.

It is difficult to get help from reporter Yoon Se-yeon in this area.

“First, I’ll call all the print shops near Blue Island Media. Just in case. It’s a key point when proving reliance.”

Since it is a Wooshin affiliate, even if we assume that they do business with Wooshin, Wooshin does not do printing business.

I also considered the possibility that they have a printer inside Blue Island Media, but that is also inefficient.

There must be a print shop they do business with.

“Let’s split up and call. Kang, you take this area, I’ll take this area. There are many print shops in Chungmuro [district in Seoul known for printing].”

Blue Island Media is also located in Chungmuro, and Chungmuro is where print shops are concentrated, so we will find one.

We made calls for about 30 minutes until the phones were on fire.

Kang Min-jae, who put down the phone with a sigh, soon turned to me.

He meant to ask if I had found anything.

I shook my head.

“Lawyer.”

“Why.”

“You’re going to take on this case, right?”

If we’re going to the point of looking for a print shop, it’s almost like we’ve started.

I nodded heavily.

Of course, I also have a strong desire to take a shot at Wooshin Group’s affiliate.

But apart from that, I think this trial is not too bad for us.

I don’t know how the client wants to be compensated for the damage, but they may try to settle it with money before going to trial.

I want Blue Island Media to be publicly disgraced in the media, but even if I think about it from the perspective of a lawyer’s sense of duty, it doesn’t seem like the client will suffer much damage.

She must have already foreseen the criticism from drama fans, given that she has decided to sue.

“I have to.”

Before I could finish speaking, Kang Min-jae jumped up from his seat.

Then he picked up his cell phone and went out to the veranda to make a call.

“Ah, yes. Hello. This is Lawyer Cha Joo-han’s office. We have decided to take on the case. Haha. I called to let you know about this. Ah, yes. Yes. I hope you can visit us at your convenience to discuss the details. Yes. Oh, of course. Yes. Thank you. I’ll hang up now!”

I was speechless at his overly excited voice.

I remember Kang Min-jae saying that it was a big case, it would get attention, and our office could grow.

To express him in the words of 2018, the future I lived in…

Isn’t he an attention seeker?

* * *

“So, the client is coming tomorrow?”

Kang Min-jae, who was mindlessly eating *jajangmyeon* [Korean black bean noodles] across from me, nodded vigorously.

“Then we need to show them something before that.”

Mumbling.

Kang Min-jae, who couldn’t answer because he was eating, buried his nose in the bowl and nodded again.

“We have to find at least a print shop.”

“Ah ah. I’m full. That’s right. We have to find a print shop.”

“You have *jajang* sauce on your nose.”

“Ah, yes.”

Kang Min-jae quickly wiped his nose with a tissue, looking embarrassed.

I leaned back deeply on the sofa and crossed my arms.

“How do we find a print shop… We can’t just grab an employee there and ask.”

“If they find out that we’re looking for a print shop, they’ll realize that they’re going to be sued and quickly start destroying evidence. We need to secure what we can before that.”

“That’s right. Ah, what would be good.”

A familiar face flashed through my mind as I pondered for a while.

“There’s someone who can do that.”

“Yes? Who?”

“Get the car ready.”

“Ah, who is it?”

“You’ll know when you get there.”

Moving with him would originally be two years from now, but it wouldn’t matter if it was a little earlier.