"Using my photo in advertising?"
After hearing what Liu Rulan had to say, Xiao He felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
This stems from the character design of Mo Tun—a villain who is always chewing betel nut.
Actually, many people now know that this stuff is extremely harmful, and many people's faces become square and rugged after eating it. Someone like Mo Tun, who ate it at such a high intensity, would definitely not be good-looking. It's purely because Xiao He himself is handsome that he makes "Mo Tun" look good.
In other words, Mo Tun's appearance is not part of the plot's design; he is only considered handsome because Xiao He is handsome.
But it was precisely this situation that allowed those merchants to make a comeback, using his photos and related videos as a gimmick to promote the idea that eating fruit is like smoking, a symbol of showing charm and hormones!
Want to be as handsome as Mo Tun? Come and have a bite of our fruit! It's the symbol of a real man!
Even now, if you open a few shopping apps and search for related terms like betel nut, the first thing that pops up is a picture of Mo Tun eating it while standing on a boat!
Xiao He stared at his phone, his face dark as he scrolled down, only to find, ridiculously, that these merchants were utterly shameless, featuring him on almost every cover, making it seem as if he had become the national spokesperson for betel nuts!
These related search terms are firmly linked to him!
He's not allowed to touch this stuff, and don't drag him into it!
“We have already negotiated with these merchants,” Liu Rulan said calmly. “But as you know, these merchants can do this because they are shameless enough. We warned several shops, and after they removed the relevant links, they immediately changed to new links. Although they no longer added your portrait, the product name is still ‘Mo Tun’s style’.”
Xiao He: "..."
My mother tongue is speechless.
“We are already collecting evidence,” Liu Rulan said. “The studio has hired the best legal team to handle this matter, but to be honest, the number of cases is too large, and they move very quickly. Once there is a problem, they will evade responsibility by changing links and closing stores. The operating entities behind multiple stores also need the platform to cooperate in the investigation. Even if the infringement is confirmed, the compensation cost they pay is very low, while we have to spend a lot of effort and resources.”
Unfortunately, it's still very difficult /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ to seek redress online, even for celebrities.
Even if someone as resourceful as Liu Rulan had the means, they would have no choice but to hire a professional team to handle such matters.
In this situation, all you can do is feel disgusted.
"That's really despicable!"
Xiao He couldn't help but curse under his breath.
“As a public figure, this situation is indeed difficult to avoid,” Liu Rulan sighed. “And your situation is actually considered good.”
At least Xiao He's listing is now on a legitimate platform, not somewhere else... Some female celebrities are in a worse situation, their images are infringed, and the listings are in far more complicated places.
That's truly disgusting, and the cost of seeking redress is extremely high; usually, the investigation will end in vain.
"Many people in the industry encounter this kind of thing, and it's a fairly normal phenomenon. It's just that this time the situation is really a bit too much. But it's also a good thing, because your business is getting better and better. The few people in your studio are probably not enough to handle the many things you're dealing with online. I'm going to take this opportunity to set up a separate legal team to help you handle online public opinion and other contract disputes."
Previously, Liu Rulan had always hired lawyers she knew from before, who were essentially unofficial staff members of the studio. She would consult those lawyers whenever there was a problem.
However, Xiao He's career is developing too fast now, and the car accident he was in recently has kept him extremely busy. Liu Rulan feels that it's time for them to establish their own professional legal team.
The only real headache is that Liu Rulan doesn't know any suitable lawyers. The lawyer who used to handle cases for their studio has already been backed by other big companies, so Liu Rulan can't poach him. The other lawyers she knows are either too expensive or have strong connections, so their small studio can't poach them. Therefore, this idea had to be put on hold for the time being.
However, this rights protection effort is likely to be a long battle, and it's time to put this team on the agenda.
Although Xiao He felt he could solve the problem with his hacking skills, he agreed with Liu Rulan's idea when considering the subsequent work process.
"Perfect!"
Xiao He took a bank card out of his laptop bag.
"I made a small profit recently, and I handed it over to Sister Liu."
Whether it's for casual investment or to support the team, Xiao He believes Liu Rulan can manage it well for him.
Liu Rulan was somewhat surprised: "Where did you come from?"
Xiao He pointed to the computer on his desktop: "I made my money from it."
Although Xiao He is currently researching more complex AI algorithms, he can still make a small profit by picking up other less useful items and selling them.
Liu Rulan looked at the bank card, her feelings extremely complicated.
She already knew that Xiao He was very good at computers.
But I never expected that Xiao He would be able to make a fortune with this skill!
After all this hustle and bustle, it would be better to let Xiao He become a programmer; he's talented and earns more money...
Immediately afterwards, Liu Rulan shook her head, putting her thoughts out of her mind.
She's Xiao He's manager! How could she have such a spineless idea!
Then, a fierce fighting spirit ignited in Liu Rulan's eyes.
If her own artists are making so much money, she can't fall behind!
So Liu Rulan left again, full of pride and high spirits.
Xiao He scratched his head: "Why does it feel like Sister Liu is getting serious?"
Is it just my imagination?
He shook his head, turned on his computer, and began to investigate what Liu Rulan had said.
This kind of thing is actually quite easy to investigate. However, what Xiao He did not expect was that although the shops and links on these platforms seemed to be all over the place and all different, after Xiao He's investigation, he found that most of these shops came from a few big bosses - that is, the owners of a few companies that were relatively well-known brands of this kind of fruit.
Well, to put it simply, these shops on the platform seem to be completely unrelated, and the identity information and related materials they left when signing with the platform are from different people. However, in reality, the operation is arranged and managed by the same boss. Even the customer service is outsourced. Only the merchant who truly controls this production line is the ultimate boss.
They may appear to be different brands, but they are actually the same supplier; the only difference is the quality of the fruit.
In other words, while it may seem that many people do such shameless behavior, implying that the law will not punish everyone, the number of shameless bosses can actually be counted on one hand.
Xiao He was so angry he laughed.
He now truly admires these online shop owners. A cunning rabbit only has three burrows, but these guys are even more cunning. They change shops very frequently, opening one shop to make a profit, and then immediately switching to another to continue making money. They don't intend to keep a shop for too long. Anyway, this kind of business is still somewhat controversial, so this promotional method is something that can be profited from if you can get a piece of the action.
Maybe by the time Sister Liu and the others have gathered enough evidence, before they even have a chance to do anything to these guys, they'll have already closed the shop and run away.
Moreover, since the shop owner's information is only nominal, if they want to sue, they can only sue the person in the name, and they can't sue the real owner at all.
The water in here is quite deep—
