Facing Rowling, a woman whose future wealth would exceed that of the Queen of England, Kyle remained calm on the surface, but inwardly he was extremely alert.
After all, this involves a market worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
To this end, Kyle prepared two completely different contracts to prevent possible "contract-breaking" situations from occurring in the future.
What Kyle showed Rowling at the time was version A of the contract.
"Ms. Rowling, the content of Version A of the contract not only involves the film and television copyright of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but also involves the subsequent copyrights of the Harry Potter series, including but not limited to film and television copyrights. Agency contracts such as book sales and peripheral authorisations are also included. Moreover, the contract states that we, Page Pictures, will help you to promote book sales with all our strength." Lawyer Paul Goodman explained the contract.
Rowling nodded.
Subsequent film and television rights;
Agency contracts for book sales and peripheral licensing;
These two points were shown in bold font in the contract, so Rowling could certainly see them at a glance.
In fact, as a film and television company, Page Pictures could completely give up the agency contract for book sales, but Kyle couldn't bear to do so!
Oh my God!
The sales of the seven Harry Potter novels alone, as genuine copies, have exceeded 400 million copies in the global market!
What shocking sales figures!
"Lawyer Paul, are there any major differences between your company's version A and version B?"
Rowling did not sign directly, but asked further questions.
You know, Rowling is now extremely poor and survives on government relief.
If it were an ordinary person, when seeing the 100,000 copyright purchase fee involved in the contract, he would sign his name immediately. This alone shows that even now, Rowling has always maintained a shrewdness that is difficult for ordinary people to achieve.
Paul Goodman: "…."
He did not answer Rowling's question immediately, but glanced at Kyle.
After seeing Kyle nod, Paul Goodman explained: "Ms. Rowling, the main difference between the A and B versions of the contract is not the copyright content, but the purchase price."
While speaking, Paul Goodman took out version B of the contract.
Same content, same price?!
The contents of both the A/B contracts include the copyright of the entire Harry Potter series, not just Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
At the same time, relevant copyrights such as books and peripheral authorisations must be included.
As for the different prices of the A/B versions of the contract, they are mainly reflected in the amount of copyright payment and liquidated damages.
Version A of the contract:
Page Pictures paid a one-time payment of $100,000 to acquire the film and television rights and related copyrights of the first Harry Potter film, and paid an incremental price of 10% as the purchase price for the copyrights of each subsequent film. The penalty was $80 million;
Contract Version B:
Page Pictures paid a one-time payment of US$10 million to acquire the film and television rights and related copyrights of the entire "Harry Potter" series, and provided an additional US$1 million for each subsequent film and television copyright of "Harry Potter", with a total penalty of US$800 million.
Moreover, if one wishes to obtain a share of the box office revenue of subsequent adapted films, the amount of liquidated damages will be increased accordingly.
Of course, a series of supplementary explanations is set under other breach of contract clauses.
"hiss...!"
There is no doubt that Rowling took a breath of cold air at this moment.
It's not for any other reason, the price difference between the two versions of the contract A/B is just too big!
Each one is only $100,000, and even if the copyrights of several future works are included, the total is only a few hundred thousand dollars. This is already a sky-high price for Rowling, who is now in a desperate situation;
But!
The price of the second version of the contract,
So tempting!
"Oh my God!"
"A one-time payment of $10 million, even without a share of the box office net profits, is too much."
Rowling was stunned!
It is true that in the whole of Hollywood, a copyright transaction with a price tag of 10 million is also considered very high. You know, Kyle only paid 10 million US dollars to obtain a series of copyrights of "Spider-Man" from Marvel.
Rowling was shocked, and so was Christopher Nolan.
Although Nolan has not yet entered Hollywood, he knows a lot about Hollywood and knows what a $10 million copyright deal means, which means huge benefits.
"Mr. Page, do you think so highly of this fantasy novel?" Nolan couldn't help but think.
Rowling took a deep breath and said thoughtfully: "Mr. Page, Lawyer Paul Goodman, I need to think about it."
Today brought shock to Rowling, no, it was a shock!
Too many!
She needed a buffer.
So Kyle and his group did not stay long, but said goodbye and left.
...
...
In a hotel in downtown Edinburgh.
Unable to resist his curiosity, Nolan asked first: "Mr. Page, are you so optimistic about the film and television rights of the novel called "Harry Potter"?"
"That's right!"
Kyle did not hide it at the moment: "In my opinion, it is a gold mine. If it were not for the existence of international copyright transaction laws on the price and penalty of copyright transactions, I would set the penalty to 2 billion US dollars, or even higher!"
Nolan was stunned.
If the copyright transaction price is 100,000 US dollars, and the penalty is set at 1 billion US dollars, this is certainly possible in the contract unilaterally set by Kyle.
But it's illegal!
If this issue goes to court, the court can easily rule that the contract is invalid!
By then, Kyle's efforts would be in vain!
That's why Kyle asked Paul Goodman to prepare version B of the contract, raising the payment price, setting a high penalty for breach of contract, and increasing the betrayal price that might cause Rowling to tear up the contract, so that she would not dare to tear up the contract easily.
You know, because of copyright transaction issues, there are many lawsuits and lawsuits against each other in Hollywood every year.
"Don't be afraid of the trouble when it comes to the contract, otherwise you will have endless troubles in the future!"
This is a famous aphorism circulated among major Hollywood film companies.
Well, it is regarded as a wise saying by many people.
Kyle said in a deep voice: "I would rather pay more now than be coerced by others in the future!"
Nolan nodded again.
In the film and television adaptation of "Harry Potter", Warner Bros., Rowling, and the leading actors, these three parties have been arguing over money in the original time and space.
As the producer and distributor, Warner Bros. is certainly unwilling to pay more;
As the author of the original novel, Rowling has torn up contracts and sued Warner Bros. more than once. She made a huge profit and cut off piece after piece of fat from Warner Bros. Otherwise, how do you think her net worth of more than $2 billion came from?
The three young protagonists of the film also demanded a high share of the box office revenue from Warner Bros. in later films, otherwise, they would refuse to act;
These kinds of things can be said to have caused a lot of uproar, making the American people the real spectators.
A few days later.
The copyright of the little wizard was finally acquired by Kyle.
Rowling ultimately chose Contract B.
Although the amount of liquidated damages was high, it was still a lot of money! For Rowling, who was now impoverished, this was an irresistible temptation.
"Thank you, Mr. Page. I appreciate it."
After signing the contract, Rowling expressed her gratitude to Kyle more than once.
However, Kyle sneered in his heart.
This greedy woman will sooner or later choose to go to court with Page Pictures for the sake of profit!
Kyle did not doubt this.