America 1982-Chapter 207 - 75: Judgment_3

The judge continued, "As a professional, Mr. Bricklin, in your opinion, under what circumstances would two pieces of software exhibit identical code?"

"Code plagiarism is the most common reason, where someone obtains the source code of a software through certain means, then modifies it superficially. The code would have a high degree of resemblance, usually over 50%. Another possibility is homage, incorporating homage ’Easter eggs’—similar to special features in games that are discovered only under specific conditions. Here, there may be small snippets of code that removing would not affect the software at all. Their presence is mainly to allow developers to subtly express certain emotions."

"Thank you for your insight, Mr. Bricklin." The judge looked toward the lawyers of both parties, "Do either counsel have further questions for this expert witness?"

Delia Case was the first to decline. These expert witnesses had been brought in precisely to trouble Lotus Corporation. As long as the judge had asked effective questions, there was no need to waste time asking the same ones again. Delia would only request to question them if the judge had missed something that, she thought, could advantage Actor Corporation and allow the expert witness to speak more convincingly.

Jon Meyer seemed to want to stand up to speak, but Mitch Kapor stopped him. After repeated confirmation, Jon Meyer also declined, but he seemed somewhat dissatisfied with Mitch Kapor’s interruption and wanted to understand his employer’s intentions. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Witnesses from both parties were alternating their appearances in such an environment.

This kind of trial was about throwing all the evidence and witnesses collected by one’s side into the arena, because after today, those witnesses and evidence would become worthless.

Even the parties themselves had to take the witness stand and testify, like Holly Kina, who sat in the witness box under the scrutiny of the opposing lawyer.

"Ms. Kina, before you founded Actor Corporation, had you used Lotus software?" Jon Meyer asked in a gentle tone, not at all like a lawyer but more like a friendly teacher.

Holly nodded: "Of course, I previously worked part-time at the Entrepreneurship Center of Stanford University’s Engineering School, where I often used Lotus software to deal with various spreadsheets."

"Good, when you noticed the similarities between OSS software and Lotus software in operation and interface, didn’t you ever wonder why OSS software was so similar to the Lotus software you had used before?" Jon Meyer continued, smiling at Holly.

Holly looked directly at Jon Meyer, giving a straightforward denial: "Why question it? They are not similar at all."

"During your time at Actor Corporation, have you never worried that issues with the software being too similar could cause trouble?" Jon Meyer nodded slightly.

Holly confidently said, "Never, because we were doing the right thing."

Jon Meyer smiled triumphantly, pressing further, "Are you sure, Ms. Kina?"

"Certain," said Holly.

Jon Meyer turned his head toward the judge, "Your Honor, I believe Ms. Holly Kina’s testimony is not credible. She is lying. She has questioned the legality of OSS software, and our court-approved investigator can present call records to prove that her claim of never having doubts is a lie. Based on this issue, I would like to call our character witness to question Ms. Holly Kina’s integrity."

A character witness meant that Lotus Corporation had evidence casting doubt on Holly Kina’s credibility. Since she wasn’t just a mere witness but a key figure for the party, the character witness would take the stand to explain to the court why certain statements made by the party should be taken selectively.

"Granted." The judge flipped through the transcript of the call record and gave a response.

Jon Meyer introduced the character witness, "This is Ms. Laina Frey, Ms. Holly Kina’s cousin."

"Objection, Your Honor, I believe the character witness chosen by the opposition lacks credibility. Ms. Holly Kina has not met Ms. Laina Frey since graduation from high school, and hence, is completely incapable of providing character testimony about anything that happened during her college years," Delia Case immediately stood up and protested the relevance of the opposing character witness.

Jon Meyer swiftly countered, "Your Honor, Ms. Laina Frey is Ms. Holly Kina’s relative, having grown up with her since childhood, and I believe that a testimony from such a relative is more trustworthy."

"Objection overruled, character witness may testify," the judge glanced at Delia Case and dismissed her protest.

As Holly Kina saw her cousin stand on the opposite side, what flashed in her mind was the image of Tommy Hawk, and his words echoed in her ears:

"You once wavered, and therefore the opposition will certainly dig up the past you least want to recall, viciously attacking you, shattering your armor, tearing open your psychological defenses, leading to your breakdown, your loss of composure, then catching hold of your weaknesses to strike you down hard! Holly Kina, you must make yourself believe, you slept with your cousin’s boyfriend because you’re charming enough, and you need to claw at her publicly in the courtroom, to make her understand one thing! Not only can you take her man! You can also stand up in court and call her an ugly bitch! No one wants to sleep with an ugly bitch! That’s why I can’t help wanting to sleep with you while teaching you this! You are a beautiful she-wolf!"