Since YouTube's founders had already thoroughly investigated Isabella before accepting her investment, Fox's attack on YouTube didn't come as a surprise to them.
Or rather, what had truly caught them off guard earlier were the lawyer's letters and lawsuit from Universal Tube. Suing outright just because the domain names were similar was simply absurd.
As for how to deal with Fox's attack, YouTube's founders had two ideas:
Steve Chen thought—
"We should immediately inform Isabella about this."
"Let Isabella, or rather the think tank behind her, come up with a solution."
"Because we all know Fox is targeting her. Going after us is just incidental."
Jawed Karim thought—
"Steve, I agree with part of what you said. We do need to tell Isabella about the problem we're facing. But we shouldn't rely solely on her to solve it. We need to come up with our own solution as well."
"Because Isabella, or rather the think tank behind her, doesn't really have a good way to deal with Fox's attack. I can even list two reasons for that."
"First, Isabella's allies are Time Warner and Disney. When the hostility between Time Warner, Disney, and Fox is well known, the only method they can offer is direct confrontation."
"Second, Fox might want Isabella dead, but Time Warner and Disney can't openly help her in our situation."
"Because both of those companies survive on copyright."
"Disney is even the largest copyright conglomerate in the world."
"The fact that they haven't proactively sued us is already the biggest help they can offer. And now we expect them to help us fight Fox?"
"That's just dreaming!"
"So this storm is something we'll have to weather ourselves."
Maybe what Jawed Karim said made too much sense.
As he finished speaking, Steve Chen let out a heavy sigh.
That sudden sigh symbolized helplessness, and even more, pain.
In an instant, the tiny YouTube meeting room was filled with gloom.
The silence lingered for a while.
After going through every possible "solution," Steve Chen ultimately shook his head.
Raising the white flag—"I have no solution."
"Because in the emergency plans we previously envisioned regarding copyright issues, Isabella was never a variable."
"At the time, we thought that if a copyright giant sued us during the site's development, we could use delay tactics to deal with it. Normally, the rights holder would first send us a lawyer's letter, and then we could negotiate, argue, claim we didn't infringe. Just this step alone could buy us a lot of development time."
"By the time the rights holder loses patience and decides to sue, we could then agree to their demands and say we'll remove the infringing videos. But since those videos weren't uploaded by us, we'd need to communicate with the uploaders before deletion. By the time that whole process finishes—most of the videos have already lost their popularity."
"This approach lets us gather as much content as possible without paying licensing fees."
"But now—"
"Fox's attitude is very clear."
"They want us dead immediately."
"In that case—we can't really stall anymore…"
Since YouTube's founders already knew the industry they were entering was a gray area before they even started, they had long prepared various ways to deal with accusations.
And when it came to handling copyright issues, they believed the best method was delay.
Because every topic has a lifespan.
Nothing stays popular forever.
So as long as they could ride the trend while it lasted, YouTube could continuously gain traffic.
Unfortunately, plans never keep up with reality.
If Isabella had never invested in YouTube, their contingency plan would have been nearly perfect.
But once Isabella got involved—
If Fox still allowed them to drag things out, Rupert Murdoch might as well smash the decision-maker into paste.
Therefore—
"Steven, I think you're right."
Jawed Karim, who had been leaning back in his chair staring at the ceiling, suddenly sat up.
Looking at Chad Hurley, who had barely spoken since the meeting began, he said, "Chad, why don't we just use the ultimate solution?"
"Talk to your wife. If her father is willing to step in, then—"
"I think all our current problems will cease to be problems."
"What do you think?"
Jawed Karim's words made Steve Chen immediately turn his head to look at Chad Hurley.
As for Chad Hurley—
He had been sitting there with arms crossed, legs crossed, quietly listening. Now his mouth twitched as he said, "Wait— I called this meeting for brainstorming, not for you guys to push me into asking someone for help—"
"But asking for help is the best solution right now."
Steve Chen said, "If a single phone call from you can break this deadlock, why are we wasting time?"
"..."
Such crude yet brutally realistic words left Chad Hurley speechless.
After exchanging glances with his partners—
The YouTube meeting room fell into silence again.
Chad Hurley's background was actually quite ordinary.
But because he was handsome, he ended up dating a girlfriend from a prominent family during college.
Her name was Kathy Clark.
Her father was Jim Clark.
Anyone familiar with the history of modern technology has likely heard of Jim Clark.
He was the founder of Silicon Graphics, a company specializing in graphics workstations.
Before 1995, nearly all Hollywood special effects films were made using their machines.
At its peak, the company had annual revenues of $3.7 billion.
The profits of Hollywood special effects films were basically taken by them.
Or rather, without their machines, films like Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park wouldn't have appeared so quickly.
He was also the founder of Netscape—the same company that nearly killed Microsoft and forced Bill Gates to openly bundle software.
Additionally, he co-founded WebMD, a medical information platform.
Anyone who has spent time in Europe or America has likely heard of it.
You can find medical data across the English-speaking world on it, even clinical reports from doctors across the U.S.
And its reach has long extended into China.
WebMD's Chinese name is Tencent Medical Encyclopedia.
But those three companies are just a small part of his achievements in tech—
In the financial world, he had a company called Harris myCFO.
A financial institution specializing in wealth management for Silicon Valley elites.
Anyone in Silicon Valley with assets over ten million dollars was his client.
Then in 2002, the company was acquired by Harris Bank through a stock swap.
And after that, Jim Clark integrated into the Chicago financial consortium.
Yes.
YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley's father-in-law is part of a financial consortium.
"What?"
"Chad Hurley actually has such a powerful background?"
Isabella received a call from Nathan Bailey during dinner time on March 24, 2006, Pacific Time.
Then she learned that Rupert Murdoch had made another move against her.
Then she heard that in the face of Murdoch's attack, Chad Hurley had decided to get help.
When Nathan Bailey laid out both Chad Hurley's decision and his background—
Isabella was completely stunned!
Because everything Nathan said was something she had never known!
Because Chad Hurley's background was so overwhelming it could only be described as terrifying!
And after the shock—
"Nathan! You're not lying to me, right?"
Isabella, who was having dinner with her mother and sister, put down her fork, frowned, and spoke rapidly, "Are you sure Chad Hurley's father-in-law is Jim Clark?"
"Of course!" Nathan's voice came back with a confident retort. "What would I gain from lying to you?"
"But if you're not lying—then why would Chad Hurley accept our investment?"
Isabella voiced her confusion directly. "Someone like him—doesn't lack money, right?"
"And probably doesn't lack bandwidth either?"
"Oh, that."
Nathan Bailey laughed on the other end. "I understand your confusion. As for the answer—"
"I can only say that Chad Hurley's wife is Jim Clark's child from his previous marriage."
"After the divorce, she followed her mother, and their contact wasn't frequent."
"And Jim Clark doesn't like Chad Hurley."
"But distant blood ties are still blood ties, aren't they?"
"And regardless of whether Jim Clark likes him, Chad Hurley has been married to his daughter for nearly five years. They got married in 2000, and Jim Clark attended the wedding."
Chad Hurley isn't exactly a typical engineering geek.
He comes from a design background. If you had to compare—
He's somewhat like Steve Jobs.
In Apple's early days, the technology came from Steve Wozniak, while Steve Jobs focused on making the products look cool and figuring out how to sell them.
Similarly, Chad Hurley designed PayPal's original logo.
Something that let people instantly understand what PayPal was.
And now, YouTube's name, logo, and interface are all his work.
Honestly, creating product packaging that the public can quickly accept is a very powerful ability.
On this matter, Jack Ma once said—
"Tech geeks easily immerse themselves in their own art and forget the world."
Alibaba's programmers often write things they themselves understand instantly, but ordinary people can't.
Whenever I encounter that, I have to test the software myself.
True technical people easily detach from the masses!
Or as someone once said, "No matter how dumb a person is, can't they learn calculus by 14?"
When technological development becomes something most people can't relate to, the ability to make ordinary people accept advanced technology becomes a talent.
But in Jim Clark's eyes, Chad Hurley's abilities are just… average.
No helping that.
Jim Clark is a true genius.
Before becoming an entrepreneur, he was even a colleague of Stanley Wojcicki, the father-in-law of Google founder Sergey Brin.
He was also a professor at Stanford University.
And his mentor was Ivan Sutherland, the inventor of computer graphics user interfaces and a Turing Award winner.
And Ivan Sutherland was a student of Claude Shannon, the father of information theory.
That's right!
Being part of a financial consortium is actually the least important aspect of Jim Clark's identity!
His academic lineage is one of the three major academic factions that run through the entire American scientific community!
It's perfectly normal for someone like that to think his daughter didn't marry well!
And it's perfectly normal for him to look down on his son-in-law!
But when nothing can be changed—
Who wouldn't want their daughter to live a better life?
Right?
"Oh—I get what you mean now."
Isabella said, "You mean the problems YouTube is facing don't require my involvement anymore?"
"Chad Hurley can handle it himself?"
"More or less." Nathan Bailey paused for a moment, then ultimately affirmed Isabella's conclusion.
But after speaking, he added, "However, Chad Hurley's father-in-law, Jim Clark, definitely won't help you take down Fox or News Corp. Or rather, any help he gives Chad Hurley will be limited."
"Because his wealth, his mentor's wealth, and his peers' wealth are all tied to intellectual property."
"If he openly supports YouTube, his rivals will openly go after him."
"So at most—he'll just find a way to mediate the conflict."
"Hahaha—I get it, I get it—I get what you mean—"
Nathan Bailey's words made Isabella laugh awkwardly.
Honestly.
After learning about Chad Hurley's background, she really did have the thought of taking down Rupert Murdoch.
Uh—
That's not actually nonsense.
In front of the three major academic factions of the American tech world, Rupert Murdoch is basically nothing.
Because in media, if Fox or News Corp didn't exist, someone else could take their place.
But technology that drives the progress of the world is different.
Only geniuses can do that.
And once an idea is turned into something real, it can harvest the entire world.
Technological colonization.
Still, even if she couldn't crush Rupert Murdoch right now, Isabella didn't mind. After successfully investing in YouTube, she was only one step away from transformation. As long as she could successfully break into Silicon Valley—
Rupert Murdoch had already targeted her—what, three times?
The first time was an attack alongside Michael Eisner and the others?
The second time was that ambush involving Constantine?
The third time is this current move?
Since the old man insisted on going against her—
Isabella admitted it.
She wasn't going to let him go.
Burying her thoughts of revenge deep inside, Isabella continued, "But even if YouTube doesn't need us to intervene, what about those ridiculous lawsuits? Universal Tube's lawsuit—don't we need to clarify things?"
Nathan Bailey understood what she meant. "You want CNN or ABC to say Fox is spreading fake news?"
"Yeah—fake news."
"Oh, that. Mr. Meyer and Mr. Iger already discussed it. They both think it's unnecessary."
Nathan Bailey said, "Because Fox will help us clear things up themselves—"
After learning that YouTube's founder Chad Hurley would directly call in reinforcements, Barry Meyer and Robert Iger stopped taking Rupert Murdoch's attack on Isabella seriously.
Not only because they couldn't beat a fully backed Chad Hurley anyway.
But also because once YouTube could easily defuse Fox's attack, they could think more calmly.
And then they realized that Fox getting a company called Universal Tube to sue YouTube might be because they knew the public likes free things, and they fear public opinion.
The logic goes like this:
Back when the "Big Five" in the music industry took down Napster, the American public—or rather, the global public—was extremely dissatisfied. Protests were everywhere, and even musicians who supported the move were boycotted.
That situation led to the rise of Linkin Park.
Because the early Linkin Park actively uploaded their songs online for the public to judge.
By embracing the public, they gained massive success.
Their debut album Hybrid Theory sold over ten million copies right out of the gate.
When the public is willing to vote with real money in support of internet sharing, then at this moment, any company that sues YouTube will face backlash from public opinion—at least in Barry Meyer and Robert Iger's view.
So after discussion, they believed Fox had Universal Tube hide its identity to file the lawsuit in order to exhaust public emotion.
When the public learns that yet another company is trying to destroy YouTube like Napster, they will definitely protest. And at that moment, once the truth is revealed, the public will realize they targeted the wrong party.
Then, they will redirect all their anger toward Universal Tube for filing such a ridiculous lawsuit.
This behavior is easy to understand.
Getting someone to admit they were wrong is very difficult.
Once the public has vented a large amount of emotion on Universal Tube, when Fox later files a lawsuit claiming YouTube infringes copyright, the backlash they receive will be much smaller.
Because emotional energy is limited.
Like the saying: first effort is strong, second weakens, third is exhausted.
People will be fully engaged the first time, maybe the second.
But not the third or fourth.
No one wants to be the farmer in "The Boy Who Cried Wolf."
As for why Fox is being so cautious—
Isn't it because they were already hit by public opinion before?
Since Isabella felt that Barry Meyer and Robert Iger's judgment made sense, when Nathan Bailey said the current situation only seemed tricky, she felt relieved.
However, just as Isabella thought the situation was "800,000 vs 600,000, advantage is ours"—
MGM and Fox were conducting their final negotiations.
"To be honest, your idea is pretty crazy."
Harry Sloan shook his head. "Having a company outside the field sue YouTube just to tell the world—and us—that YouTube is infringing… this is just… insane…"
Even though Harry Sloan's words weren't polite, Fox didn't mind.
With a smile, he said, "So, Harry, are you willing to join us in suing? This is the best opportunity."
Fox's invitation made Harry Sloan raise an eyebrow.
He directly stated his price—"I want Fox to open its global distribution network to MGM for free for five years."
"And right now, our home video business is handled by Sony, but I think their cut is too high. So I want to move that business to Fox—"
"At cost price."
"Also for five years."
"What do you think?"
"No problem." Fox's general manager smiled. "We can even sign the contract right now."
"Hahahahaha!"
Fox—or rather, Rupert Murdoch's madness—made Harry Sloan burst into laughter.
At the same time—
NBC Universal chairman Robert Wright was speaking directly with Rupert Murdoch.
"Rupert, I can join Fox in suing YouTube, but I have one condition. Your News Corp must abandon its plans to enter the business news sector."
"Because I heard you want to acquire Dow Jones?"
The news industry has many subdivisions.
Politics, military, entertainment—
And in business news, Fox has never been strong, so they planned to acquire Dow Jones, the owner of The Wall Street Journal, to strengthen their position.
But—
Business news is NBC's strength.
They even have a dedicated channel for it.
That's CNBC.
So if Rupert Murdoch acquired Dow Jones, NBC's market share would definitely be affected.
Not to mention that many of NBC's current business reports are sourced from Dow Jones.
Information can be sold too.
As for that—
"Oh, Bob, you're a founding member of the global anti-piracy alliance!"
Rupert Murdoch said loudly, "Isn't suing YouTube the obvious thing to do for you?"
"They're infringing on everyone's rights!"
This sudden moral high ground made Robert Wright laugh.
"Rupert, we don't need to say all that nonsense when we talk."
"I oppose piracy because NBC Universal opposes piracy."
"Not because I personally care that much."
"So if I'm retiring in a few years, why would I attack YouTube now?"
"If I turn a blind eye to YouTube, after I retire I can keep my seat on GE's board, keep my high salary and pension."
"But—"
"Even though we all know Jim Clark doesn't like his son-in-law, what if he also doesn't like others attacking him?"
"If I anger him, one sentence from him could get me kicked out of GE."
"Will you compensate me for that loss?"
"If you're willing, wire me 500 million dollars right now."
"Otherwise—"
"Go find someone else to sue YouTube with you."
Rupert Murdoch smiled and shook his head at such blunt, business-first reasoning.
After locking eyes with Robert Wright for a moment, he said, "Fine, I agree. Until you retire, News Corp and Fox won't enter the business news sector. How about that?"
Robert Wright was satisfied—but—
"Aren't you going to ask when I'm retiring?"
"You're already 62. At most you'll work until 65, right? You're not planning to work until 80, are you? That's U.S. president territory."
"Hahahahaha!"
Rupert Murdoch's remark made Robert Wright burst into laughter.
With his nod—
On March 26, 2006, Fox updated information regarding the YouTube copyright case.
When the public learned that the company suing YouTube wasn't a copyright holder but a manufacturing company—
The world fell silent.
A few seconds later—
An uproar erupted—
"Whaaaat??? A manufacturing company is suing YouTube for 200 million just because of a similar domain name?"
"This Universal Tube company is insane, right??? Are their servers made of gold???"
"Holy crap—100,000 daily visits for less than two months caused them 20 million in losses??? If traffic costs that much, shouldn't AOL be the richest company in the world? Wouldn't their yearly profits be trillions???"
"This Universal Tube company is crazy for money!"
"Damn! This is outright robbery! Robbery!"
"Universal Tube makes me sick!"
"Anyone want to raid Universal Tube with me? Just flood their website!"
"Let's go! This company shouldn't survive!"
"..."
The public outrage instantly turned Universal Tube into a target of universal condemnation.
Wave after wave of anger threw North American public opinion into chaos.
Maybe because YouTube really was useful, with tons of content—
The outrage lasted for two full days!
Only then did it die down.
Just when everyone thought the Universal Tube lawsuit was a complete joke—
Friday, March 31, 2006.
Fox, MGM, and NBC Universal officially filed a lawsuit against YouTube in a Los Angeles district court.
And the reason—
Copyright infringement.