Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 75

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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75. How much will it take?

A few days later, in Urbana, Illinois.
On an afternoon when spring sunlight streamed down warmly, the sprawling University of Illinois campus, with its verdant lawns stretching endlessly in all directions, was dotted with stately buildings constructed of red brick that spoke to the institution’s storied history.
Along the pathways, ancient and towering trees stood sentinel, and one could easily spot students lounging on benches absorbed in their studies or pedaling bicycles toward their next lectures.
Seok-won sat in the back seat of the limousine, gazing out the window at the vibrant, youthful landscape of the campus.
Just a year ago, I too had been a student at Harvard University, so the atmosphere felt neither foreign nor unfamiliar—rather, it was comforting and nostalgic.
The limousine crossed the campus and came to a halt in front of a four-story building with red exterior walls, constructed in modern style unlike the other structures around it.

“This is the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.”

At Landon Shore’s words, I turned my head and gazed slowly up at the building.
The University of Illinois campus, so vast it could evoke an entire city, housed several affiliated research facilities, and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications was one of them.
I opened the car door and stepped out, then entered the building alongside Landon Shore.
A private security guard in uniform, a pistol holstered at his waist, stopped us at the entrance and asked a question.

“What brings you here?”
“We have an appointment with Jason Bedford.”

When Landon Shore mentioned the name of the research center’s deputy director, the guard’s expression softened slightly.

“May I have your name?”
“Landon Shore. If you mention it’s regarding the web browser matter, he’ll understand.”
“Please wait a moment.”

The guard walked to the information desk on one side and picked up the internal phone, making a call to someone.
After hanging up the receiver, the guard approached us again and spoke.

“A staff member will be down shortly to escort you.”

We nodded slightly and made our way to the sofa in the lobby to wait for someone to arrive.
After a few minutes had passed, a lean Caucasian man emerged from the elevator.
Scanning the lobby, the man spotted us and approached directly.

“Are you the ones from Netscape?”
“Yes, we are.”

At Landon Shore’s response, the man’s demeanor stiffened slightly.

“I’ll show you to the Conference Room. Please follow me.”

The two men rose from their seats and followed him into the Elevator.
They were led to a fourth-floor Conference Room with expansive windows overlooking a meticulously landscaped Campus below.
A long conference table occupied the center, with four chairs arranged on each side, and small water bottles accompanied glass cups at every seat—clearly prepared in advance for today’s negotiation.

“Please wait a moment. The Vice Director will be here shortly.”

Seok-won nodded in acknowledgment and took a seat by the window with Landon Shore.
Shortly after, the door opened and a middle-aged Caucasian man with dark hair and a slight paunch entered alongside a man of refined appearance.
The middle-aged man glanced over the two visitors briefly, then approached and introduced himself first.

“I’m Jason Bedford, Vice Director of NCSA.”

Landon Shore then produced a business card and handed it to Jason Bedford.

“I’m Landon Shore, the one who contacted you.”

With a courteous gesture, he indicated Seok-won beside him.

“This is Park Seok-won, our fund’s CEO and the largest shareholder of Netscape.”

At the mention of a fund representative who appeared to be barely past college age, Jason Bedford’s expression visibly registered surprise.
Accustomed to such looks and recognizing them as perhaps inevitable, Seok-won extended his hand with composure.

“Park Seok-won.”
“My apologies. You look far too young—I was caught off guard. If I’ve been rude, I’m truly sorry.”

As Jason Bedford shook his hand and apologized, Seok-won replied with a gentle smile.

“Being young is a fact, so it’s fine.”

Brushing it aside lightly, Jason Bedford introduced the man who had entered with him.

“This is Lawyer Croft, who will provide legal counsel.”

Croft, a lean Italian-American with an elongated face, then produced his business card and handed it to both men.

“Croft.”

With introductions exchanged so briefly, the four of us took our seats across from one another at the long conference table.
After a moment of awkward silence, Croft cleared his throat softly and spoke first.

“You wanted to discuss matters related to this lawsuit?”

Landon Shore answered on my behalf, his expression composed.

“Indeed. If this proceeds to trial, both parties will face considerable difficulties. Wouldn’t it be more advantageous to reach a settlement at a reasonable point beforehand?”
“There appears to be a significant flaw in your reasoning.”

Landon Shore’s brow furrowed slightly as he regarded Croft.

“What do you mean by that?”

Croft spoke with unhurried confidence.

“Once trial begins, Netscape will face difficulties, but we have nothing to worry about.”

Jason Bedford, seated beside him, nodded in agreement.
In other words—they were saying the pressure was on us, not them.
Though it was disconcerting to see them seize the initiative from the outset with such brazen confidence, Landon Shore responded with remarkable composure, as if he had anticipated this very moment.

“Is that so?”
“….”
“Since NCSA holds all intellectual property rights to Mosaic, we certainly wouldn’t have the advantage in court.”

Croft’s smug expression faltered as Landon Shore continued.

“However, even if you win, it will be a pyrrhic victory.”

Landon Shore’s eyes met the confusion in theirs, and he proceeded calmly.

“We will file a countersuit against NCSA in California Federal Court, so the trial won’t conclude quickly.”

Jason Bedford, who had been leaning back arrogantly, immediately stiffened.

“Did you just say you’re filing a countersuit against us?”

At the pointed question, Landon Shore nodded slightly.

“That’s correct. What I want to make clear here is that Netscape has never infringed on any intellectual property rights.”
“Hah.”

Watching Jason Bedford exhale in exasperation, Landon Shore spoke with composure.

“While there may be some superficial similarities to NCSA’s Mosaic, that’s only because the core developer happens to be the same person—Tom Harper, Netscape’s representative.”
“This is absolutely absurd!”

Jason Bedford’s face hardened as he glared, but Landon Shore remained unmoved.

“I’m simply stating the truth as it is. It’s an undeniable fact that Tom Harper came up with the initial idea and played a crucial role in developing Mosaic.”

At that, Jason Bedford bristled and shot back.

“Mosaic wasn’t created by an individual—it’s a web browser developed collaboratively by NCSA researchers! That’s precisely why the intellectual property rights belong to NCSA.”
“I beg to differ.”

As Landon Shore maintained his unhurried demeanor, Jason Bedford’s eyebrows shot upward.
Croft, standing beside him, watched Jason Bedford fall for the provocation and interjected with an inward tsk of disapproval.

“We can settle the merits of this dispute in court. Please calm yourself.”

But before Croft’s efforts to soothe Jason Bedford could bear fruit, Landon Shore struck again.

“Whether NCSA acknowledges it or not, those who know the truth understand perfectly well where Mosaic’s idea originated.”
“If you intend to continue down this path, I see no point in further discussion.”

Croft spoke curtly, his expression grave.
Yet Landon Shore, without the slightest change in expression, maintained his rational composure and pressed on.

“As I mentioned earlier, if both sides proceed to litigation, it won’t be a quick affair.”

Turning his head slightly, Landon Shore regarded Seok-won, who sat quietly with arms crossed, and spoke with utmost gravity.

“Our representative here absolutely despises losing.”
“Ha!”

Jason let out a hollow laugh as if utterly flabbergasted.

“Then let’s see who wins. That should settle it!”

Landon Shore spoke to Jason, whose voice had turned sharp with anger.

“You’ll remember what I said earlier—even if I were to win, it would be a hollow victory.”

Jason stared at him with a look that said, “So what?”

“A young student researcher came up with the idea and painstakingly developed the results, only for NCSA to unreasonably seize everything and cast them out with contempt.”
“…”
“What do you think would happen if it became known that you’re trying to suppress and shut down a struggling startup before it even takes root?”
“…!”

Landon Shore smiled meaningfully as he watched Jason’s brow furrow.

“Especially if it became public that NCSA—a public research institution established for the public good—engaged in such despicable conduct. You’d face criticism from all sides, and your reputation would suffer greatly. I’m not sure you could bear that.”

As Jason flinched, Lawyer Croft spoke with intensity in his eyes.

“Are you threatening our client!”
“It’s not a threat. It’s a warning.”

Landon Shore shrugged as he replied.
Jason’s face flushed crimson as he erupted in anger.

“You’re incredibly rude!”

Just as he was about to stand and leave, Seok-won—who had been listening to the conversation until now—spoke in a grave voice.

“You’ll regret it if you walk out now.”
“What?”

Seok-won met Jason’s fierce gaze directly and continued.

“If negotiations break down, everything Landon Shore just mentioned will be reported through the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.”
“…!”

Jason Bedford froze, his eyes widening in shock.
The three daily newspapers I had just mentioned wielded formidable influence not merely across the United States, but throughout the entire world—they were major media powerhouses, after all.
Jason Bedford glared, struggling to conceal his dismay.

“You think I’d fall for such an obvious bluff!”
“If you don’t believe me, then proceed as you wish. However, you alone will bear full responsibility for the consequences that follow.”
“….”

He doubted whether I truly possessed the ability to commission articles in the three major dailies and have them published.

‘But if what I just said is true….’

If the articles actually ran as I described and public opinion turned against NCSA, the consequences that would unfold afterward were too catastrophic to even contemplate.
After a flurry of conflicting thoughts crossed his mind in those brief moments, Jason Bedford quietly returned to his seat.
Observing this, I allowed myself an inward smile, my tone softening as I spoke.

“There’s no need to fight to the bitter end when both sides would only end up wounded. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Then you need only accept the conditions we’ve demanded.”

Croft interjected, attempting to reclaim the initiative that had slipped away.
I immediately shook my head.

“NCSA surely understands that those are unreasonable demands we cannot possibly accept.”

Jason Bedford, now the focus of attention, let out an awkward cough before asking.

“Then what exactly are you proposing?”

I paused deliberately before speaking slowly.

“Rather than impossible demands, I’d like to propose a realistic solution.”
“…?”

As Jason Bedford leaned forward with keen interest, I presented the proposal I had carefully prepared beforehand with utmost seriousness.

“Instead of paying individual royalties, I propose that we acquire all rights to Mosaic.”

Caught completely off guard by this unexpected proposal, both Jason Bedford and Croft exchanged looks of utter astonishment.

“That way, we can settle this cleanly without either of us losing face again, wouldn’t you agree?”

But Jason’s expression hardened immediately as he refused.

“Mosaic is a technology that even NCSA keeps under close watch and management. It absolutely cannot be transferred outside.”
“Of course, I understand. But honestly, NCSA doesn’t actually generate revenue from Mosaic, and the costs to sustain development are hardly insignificant.”

Indeed, as the Mosaic project had expanded to involve dozens of researchers, it was consuming considerable research funding.
Yet with frequent errors occurring and results falling short of expectations, various murmurs had begun circulating within NCSA itself.

‘The Mosaic project’s stagnation and failure to grow further—that’s NCSA’s own doing, having driven away key personnel like Tom Harper through neglect.’

Seok-won, muttering this to himself, turned to Jason and spoke.

“By developing and releasing Mosaic, this revolutionary web browser to the world, haven’t you already sufficiently fulfilled NCSA’s founding mission—to create programs for the public good that individual companies would struggle to develop?”

Jason furrowed his brow and deliberated for a long moment before asking him a question.

“If we were to sell the intellectual property rights, how much could you offer?”

Sensing that Jason’s resolve had wavered slightly, I leaned back in my chair and answered.

“Whatever amount you need.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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