Although superhero copyrights are not doing well at the moment, they will be very popular in the future!
In fact, the series of superhero copyrights sold by Marvel Studios all have a validity period.
Generally, it is 5 to 8 years!
This means that if the film company that obtains the copyright of the superhero fails to shoot the superhero movie as per the contract within 5 years, then Marvel can unconditionally take back the copyright of the superhero!
The copyrights of superheroes such as Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow, and Fantastic Four are all superhero copyrights with a certain number of years of authorisation.
But!
As the saying goes, "When the enemy comes, we will fight him with the army; when the water comes, we will block it with earth." There are always more solutions than problems.
The term is 5 years?
If you don't shoot, will the copyright be reclaimed unconditionally?
Well then, when the five-year term is almost up, I will just spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to make a shoddy film. What can Marvel do about it?
For example: In the original time and space history, Constantine Films, which owns the copyright of "Fantastic Four", has done this many times.
In short, since Marvel has sold the copyright, unless you pay a certain price, the copyright will definitely still be in my hands.
Well, even if it rots and moulds in a warehouse!
Not to mention Marvel's superhero copyrights, even other types of related copyrights, major Hollywood film companies basically adhere to this practice.
Of course, not all superhero copyrights have contract terms!
For example, the copyrights to the X-Men and Deadpool series purchased by 20th Century Fox, and the copyrights to Spider-Man, Venom, and Doctor Octopus purchased by Kyle, are all perpetual. In other words, as long as I don't sell them, you can't do anything to me!
Kyle watched Kevin Feige leave.
"Bang, bang, bang~!"
Not long after, someone knocked on Kyle's office door again. It was Kyle's chief assistant, Alexander Povich Sanali Sergei.
Well, that's a long name!
In fact,
As a Russian, Alexander's name is quite normal among Russians. After all, Russian names usually include the father's name, the mother's name, and even the grandmother's name. If the woman is married, she will also add the husband's surname.
"Boss!" Alexander said respectfully.
"Good afternoon, Alexander. You come here at this time, it seems that you have completed the task I asked you to do." Kyle said with a smile.
"Yes, boss."
Alexander continued, "I've roughly figured out the information about Apple's various shareholders, including several companies and individuals that own a large number of Apple shares."
Kyle nodded. "There's no need to go into the details of Apple's shareholders. After all, they're a publicly listed company. A little research will reveal everything. Tell me about the companies and individuals that hold a large number of Apple shares."
In the following time, Alexander reported to Kyle in detail.
Currently, Apple has a total of 38.9% of its shares outstanding on the market, of which 5% to 12% are concentrated in the hands of investment institutions and companies, and the rest are owned by shareholders.
Among the 5% to 12% of non-voting shares, two major companies hold the majority.
....
One: the Environmental Defence Fund.
The National Environmental Defence Fund is a semi-official organisation. As the name suggests, it is mainly engaged in the promotion and maintenance of environmental protection, and investment and financial management are also a part of it.
It holds a 2.7% stake in Apple.
...
Second: Microsoft Corporation.
On August 6, 1997, Microsoft used $150 million to purchase a large number of non-voting shares in Apple, accounting for 3%.
"Boss, the Environmental Defence Fund bought its Apple shares back in the early 1990s, holding a 4.9% stake. However, Apple isn't doing well right now, and it has sold some of its shares over the past few years. They're also considering selling off the remaining 2.7%."
Alexander is worthy of being a senior elite who graduated from a prestigious university. He analysed the pros and cons in such a short time, saving Kyle a lot of time.
"Starting tomorrow, contact the Environmental Defence Fund and tell them I'm willing to take over this $135 million worth of Apple stock," Kyle said.
Alexander nodded.
The fact was just as Alexander had guessed. When the Environmental Defence Fund learned that Kyle was willing to buy the shares, it agreed without hesitation.
Who made Apple's stock so bad right now?!
Even though Steve Jobs has returned to Apple and is now in charge, it has been almost a year and the market share of Apple's products has continued to decline at an uncontrollable rate.
There has been no change in the value of its stock.
In fact, if it were not for the current environment of the Internet industry, which is sought after by all investors, given Apple's current half-dead state, its stock would probably have fallen to the level of a penny stock long ago.
"Boss, if you give me another week, I am confident that I can lower the price to 125 million US dollars," Alexander said in a deep voice.
Price reduction?
Why would Kyle object to saving $10 million?
Of course, I agreed to him!
There's no doubt that before long, Kyle will be able to acquire a 2.7% stake in Apple, even if it's just non-voting shares.
However....
Kyle tried to acquire Microsoft's 3% non-voting Apple shares, but was rejected!
Even after Kyle stated that he was willing to pay 8% above the market price for the acquisition, Microsoft still wasn't interested.
Kyle could have bought Apple shares directly from the stock market, but acquiring large quantities wouldn't be easy, and it would have caused Apple's stock price to rise further. Even if the average price was similar to the market price, it would still be a hassle. Therefore, he chose to buy from Microsoft.
"Why doesn't Microsoft sell its shares to me?"
Kyle sat alone in the office and began to think deeply.
Time passed by bit by bit. I have to say that although Kyle was still a vulgar person with a ** mentality, he had grown a lot after travelling through time for more than two years.
After some thought and analysis based on what I know about the future, I came to a rough conclusion.
"Microsoft's purchase of a 3% non-voting stake in Apple is not driven by profitability."
In fact, Kyle guessed right.
The reason why Microsoft used $150 million to buy Apple's stock was to exchange it for Apple giving up the lawsuit against Microsoft for copyright infringement and for every Apple computer to have the IE browser built into it.
Perhaps even more significantly, Microsoft also announced it would continue to support its Office suite for Mac, establishing the Matosh Software Division shortly thereafter. This move reversed Microsoft's previous lag in Mac software compared to its PC counterparts and earned the company several awards.
Of course, after Microsoft achieved its goal, it later sold all of its Apple shares.
I have to say, Microsoft is a cunning guy!
Microsoft successfully sold its Apple shares before the dot-com bubble, which made it a small profit.
"Hey~!"
Kyle curled his lips and said, "Microsoft is so sneaky! It seems that we won't be able to get these shares from Microsoft in a short time."
I adjusted my mindset and said, "It doesn't matter. As long as I can acquire a large stake before Apple officially becomes successful, it will be completely fine. There's no rush now."
In the afternoon.
Kyle left the company and took two future great directors, Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan, to the Hollywood Chinese Theatre. You know, today is the day for the premiere of "Titanic".