The Billion Dollar Code (2021) s01e03 Episode Script

[Eric] Good morning.
First in, last out, huh?
[Lea] Yep.
When I was a kid
my dad stuck a whole bunch
of toothpicks in my hand.
He said, "If you can break them in half,
I'll buy you a new BMX bike."
[Lea chuckles]
So I took the toothpicks
and I tried to break them in half.
[chuckles] No matter how hard I tried,
I just wasn't strong enough.
And finally, my dad came and he took
the toothpicks out of my hand,
- and announced
- Thanks.
"I never said you had to
break them all at the same time."
[Eric chuckles]
We got two German hackers
going up against a big American company.
Everything, Lea,
absolutely everything depends on whether
or not the jury like Carsten and Juri.
It doesn't even matter
whether they're right or not.
The only thing that matters
is if the jury wants to believe them.
That could happen if your two toothpicks
stuck together, but right now,
your two toothpicks
won't even talk to one another.
They can't even stand to be
in the same room together.
- We'll see.
- We'll see.
[techno music playing]
[elevator whirring]
- Juri.
- Brian.
- Good to see you.
- Yeah, likewise.
[Eric] What you see is the e-mail
you sent Brian Andersson
when you found out he was developing
Google Earth. Did you write this e-mail?
It looks right, yeah.
Could you read aloud
what you wrote, if you don't mind?
"You have finally found a way
how to bring it to the people,
and I feel very good about it."
You are congratulating him
- on Google Earth?
- [Juri] Yeah.
That he had a solution
that would bring it to the people.
I can see the e-mail
could be interpreted like that. Yeah.
- Oh, you got an espresso machine here.
- Yeah, sure.
- What a place.
- This is our office.
Wow. Yeah. Hi. Hi, I'm Brian.
- Hey, Brian. Hi.
- Hi.
Hi.
- Carsten.
- Carsten, right. Yeah, sorry.
Don't worry.
- Oh! Your famous ball.
- Oh, yeah.
[Eric] Did you write anything
about him stealing your algorithm?
- I mean, I never even thought
- [Eric] Answer my question, Herr Müller.
Was there any accusation of him
stealing your algorithm in your e-mail?
No.
Anything in that e-mail, perhaps,
accusing him of patent infringement?
You took it for granted
that Brian Andersson was your friend, yes?
That's correct.
Would you accuse a friend, whom,
for years, you hadn't had any contact,
then the first time you contact him,
would you accuse him of something
you don't know to be true?
No, I certainly wouldn't.
Wow.
[clears throat] Can I get an autograph?
- [all chuckling]
- Of course you can.
Oh. How long ago was that?
[Lea] Is that the reason
you didn't mention it in your e-mail?
[Juri] Of course.
And what did you mention instead?
That we had Terravision under patent
and that we must have a discussion
about the situation.
We didn't want to accuse him straightaway.
To me, that was very important.
Google, they're changing the world, guys.
They wanna make glasses
that are portable computers.
And self-driving cars
that don't need human drivers
and no longer have accidents.
And their motto is, "Don't be evil."
What billion-dollar company says that?
Right? They say, "Go make money."
Google says, "Don't be evil."
[all chuckling]
Promise me you won't tell.
Okay. [chuckles lightly]
Okay. So, this is the next big thing.
A touch screen.
And it has a high-quality camera
and you can film with it.
It's just a prototype, but in a couple
years, everybody's gonna have one.
Schmölders!
- [Schmölders] Take a picture.
- [all chuckling]
[Brian] Unfortunately,
I can't let you keep that.
[Schmölders] Holy shit. Let me see? Wow!
You know,
we were all a little bit surprised
when we heard about you and Google Earth.
Yeah. I absolutely understand that.
Uh
Okay, so in [sighs] In a nutshell, um
a few years back, I left Silicon Graphics
to start a new company
and I was developing things
for the video game industry.
In addition to that,
I did a flying-to-Earth demo.
Just to show
how my game engine worked, okay?
That was the only reason.
And I thought the market
was waiting for me to come along.
But it wasn't. So I was basically fucked.
And at one point,
Google knocked on my door.
And they're not interested
in my game engine.
The only thing they want is my little
flying-to-Earth demo.
And I remember telling you guys
that you shouldn't leave
your seat at the table
and you should never sell your ideas but
But to be honest, when they offered
to develop Google Earth with me,
I was just so goddamn happy
that I didn't have to sit
at that table alone anymore.
So yeah, for sure, I said yes.
Right? Best goddamn idea ever, I thought.
And that's it. That's the
That's the whole story.
And now we're sitting here.
You, with your patent on one side,
and me and Google on the other side.
So I think we have two options here.
We can fight each other,
or we can join forces.
Which is what we should have
done from the beginning.
Which was work together, right?
And I could tell you
what my favourite option is,
because I don't wanna fight you guys.
That's why I proposed to Google
that we should buy your patent
and, you know,
think about future collaborations.
Huh? And you know what?
They are interested.
And they said that you should
make them an offer.
[all chuckling]
- [Schmölders] Okay. Really?
- Yeah, really.
[Schmölders] Okay. How much?
No, no. It's okay. It's okay. I mean,
I can't really give you any exact numbers.
Uh
But then again, on the other hand,
I'm not the one paying. So, um
three, five?
Why don't you just try for $5 million?
- Wow.
- Fuck.
[techno music playing over speakers]
[man shouting excitedly]
[Juri] What do we have to do?
You have to show them your materials.
I mean, the patents,
photographs, videos, articles.
Okay, no problem.
We'll put it all together for you.
Perfect.
[all laughing]
You're such a cool company.
You're such cool guys.
Maybe we should even buy
shares in Art+Com.
- Right?
- [laughing]
- [techno music continues]
- [girl whooping]
We have so many ideas.
Maybe if Google If Google
doesn't want to do them itself,
we could do them for Google.
Yeah, sounds great.
Or Or Google has ideas and wants
them developed, we could do that.
Yeah, perfect.
Like how to fly into buildings
for selected locations
or expert solutions.
We could work together.
Terravision and Google Earth could be one.
Yeah. Well, maybe they are.
I mean, if I hadn't seen
Terravision back then,
I could never create
something like Google Earth.
You guys showed me what was possible.
Without Terravision,
there would be no Google Earth.
That's how it is. [echoes]
[music fades]
"Without Terravision, there would be
no Google Earth. That's how it is."
- That is what he said?
- Yeah.
He said that without Terravision,
Google Earth wouldn't have existed?
He said that Terravision
had been his inspiration
for Google Earth's programming.
That it made him realise
what was possible.
So awesome!
- [Lea] Remember you're under oath here?
- [Juri] Yes.
[Lea] He knew the algorithm?
[Juri] I had explained how it worked.
[Lea] The quadtree, texture mapping,
distributed data structures.
- The floating coordinate system?
- [Juri] Everything.
[Lea] Even the interaction
of these elements?
[Juri] He was a brilliant programmer.
He immediately got it.
But in Berlin,
that was when he told you that without
the knowledge of all those elements,
he would have never been able
to program Google Earth?
Yeah.
Now it is time
for this old man to go to bed.
- Bye, guys.
- [Carsten] Okay, bye. Sleep well.
[both chuckling softly]
Google wants to buy shares in our company.
- This is big, huh?
- Cool, yeah?
Seriously!
[both laughing]
Yeah, man, we should get in touch
with a lawyer first.
What?
I'm not saying we shouldn't do it.
Of course we should do it. But
Let's get in touch with a lawyer first,
before an official offer's made
and all our stuff is sent, yeah?
Come on. For years, we haven't heard
from him, and out of nowhere he arrives?
But he didn't have to come, remember?
He could have just ignored us.
That he came immediately is a great sign.
- Let's not spoil it by getting lawyers.
- I'm not trying to spoil it.
- I want this as much as you do.
- If we show up with lawyers,
that would spoil everything.
There's no trust anymore.
We've trusted him before, yeah?
And you know I assign
no blame to you for any of that.
All I'm saying is
we should be careful this time.
- How about you give me a little trust
- I gave you my trust!
In California.
And look where we are now.
[Eric]
How long was Brian Andersson in Berlin?
Three or four days, I'd say.
[Eric] During those three or four days,
did you ever mention the fact
that he had stolen your algorithm?
- No.
- But you mean to tell me,
after the first time you saw it,
you immediately suspected that Terravision
and Google Earth were identical.
And you never mentioned it to him
over those four days?
[Juri] No.
Even though you allegedly explained,
in 1995, everything in detail
to do with Terravision.
- You said nothing to him?
- No.
And even though
you allegedly suspected at that time
that Terravision
and Google Earth were identical,
you happened to give him
all the patent documents?
Your question seems to amount
to a correlation at that time,
but I can assure you
I didn't see that. Yeah.
How does one hand over
all the documents, photos, videos,
specifically to someone who they doubt
and think stole their idea and copied it?
[Juri] Because I wanted to work with him.
Because I wanted to work with Google.
[Lea] What happened
after Brian Andersson left Berlin?
I sent Google our patent documents.
But they had reservations and objections
about the patent and its formulation.
And how did you react to start off?
I took it seriously, of course,
and submitted the patent
with their annotations
to the American Bureau where I believed
it would be reassessed and approved.
Without this valid patent, we would
of course have no agreement with them.
Nobody knew how long
this resubmission would go on for.
Or whether they'd be willing to issue
a new patent after all.
[scoffs] So we just
had to wait to find out.
Give it to me. Hand it over.
[Carsten] I took that opportunity
to accept Julia's offer,
and with Deutsche Telekom's support,
to show Terravision Time Travel
at the Intermediale exhibition.
- [man 1] Higher, it has to be higher.
- [man 2] Okay.
Okay. Three, two, one, now!
- And now?
- Yes, great, great!
Juri, while this was going on,
had demos he wanted to work on
with buildings being flown into.
He wanted to present it to Google
as a potential add-on to Google Earth.
- [young Juri chuckles]
- [young Carsten] This is really good.
I'm confident that Brian will love it.
I know he will.
How long did it take
before the American Patent Bureau
reviewed the resubmission and approved it?
Many months.
[Lea] What was the outcome?
The patent was reissued.
We'd resolved all of their problems.
And how did Google react to that?
They congratulated us
and asked for another meeting in Berlin.
[Lea] What were your thoughts
as you received this news.
I believe it was an e-mail?
[Juri] Yes, e-mail.
How did this make you feel?
That we'd finally achieved it.
That it was a turning point
for Terravision and Art+Com to move on.
[Juri] Here he is.
- [door closes]
- [Juri chuckles softly]
Where's Brian?
Sadly, Mr. Andersson couldn't make it.
But he sends his regards.
I'm Dr. Newes.
I work for the legal department
of Google Deutschland,
which means this meeting is necessary.
Okay.
We went through all the deeds once again,
including the reissued patent you sent us.
But we still aren't entirely convinced
by its formal soundness.
But the patent was approved, wasn't it?
That isn't to say
it isn't formally questionable.
Wait, we've submitted Terravision
two times to the American Patent Bureau
for approval before this.
We included all your reservations
the second time around.
And it's been both times granted.
What else are we supposed to do?
What you have done
has absolutely nothing to do with it.
But unfortunately, just because
the American Patent Bureau
issues a patent to somebody,
that doesn't mean that patent
should have been issued at all.
Do you understand?
[Carsten sighs] But what does that mean?
[Newes] That we won't be buying
nor licensing your patent.
Which means Google, consequently,
has no interest in collaborating with you.
[Carsten scoffs softly]
[Eric] And even having
those legal experts across from you,
you still didn't mention
a possible patent infringement?
The meeting wasn't about that.
- [Eric] But you didn't mention it?
- No.
[Eric] At that point in time,
you still hadn't mentioned it
to Brian Andersson or to Google?
No, I obviously hadn't.
It was, in fact, Google's patent lawyers
who addressed the matter first, wasn't it?
But every cloud has a silver lining.
You remain free to use your patent
as long as you want to.
[laughing] You're messing with us, yeah?
What does Brian got to say?
Mr. Andersson is not here.
I couldn't possibly speculate as to what
Why isn't he here?
Why isn't he telling us himself?
We have come all this way to tell you.
I want to talk to Brian about this.
[Newes] Please. Nobody will stop you.
I'm afraid Mr. Andersson isn't in charge
of matters concerning patent licensing.
We are, you see.
And going through your documents,
we've been able to establish
Google Earth and Terravision
function completely differently, you see.
[Juri] What?
[Eric] Could it be that you actually
never told Brian Andersson
anything relevant about Terravision?
No.
[Eric] Could it be
that you couldn't stomach the fact
that Brian Andersson had succeeded
where you were never able to?
Namely Google Earth.
No, it couldn't be.
No, Brian.
They said that it's not your business
and you can't decide but
Yeah, but why didn't you come?
Well They didn't allow you?
Yeah, but why didn't you call and warn us?
But we are not business partners.
We are friends. We
No, you said that they already said yes
and want to buy our patent.
And now they said it is not the same but
You
also think that it's not the same?
I have a transcript of the deposition
given by Brian Andersson
in which there is nothing about
your allegation of what he said.
The idea that without Terravision,
he wouldn't have made Google Earth
was never mentioned. Not to be found.
Not a word.
That's not true. He wasn't asked about it.
[Eric] Well, in his opinion,
you were a great guy.
A good programmer. But there was
nothing more than a few polite words.
That's a lie!
He definitely said
that without Terravision,
Google Earth would never
have been possible to develop.
He even yelled in my face about it.
Then only one of you is telling the truth
and the other is not.
Yeah, and I can tell you which that is.
[Eric] Are you familiar
with the term "hyperventilation syndrome"?
Are you familiar
with the term "hyperventilation syndrome"?
No.
[Eric] Are you not familiar
with the term "hyperventilation syndrome"?
Naturally I'm aware of the term
"hyperventilation syndrome"! Sure enough.
You already know!
But I won't answer that question.
Frau Hauswirth.
[Lea] Herr Müller,
please answer the question if you would.
Yeah.
[Eric] Yes, what?
Yeah, I'm aware of it.
[Eric] Would you agree
that the hyperventilation syndrome
is symptomatic of an anxiety disorder,
therefore could indicate
a serious psychological condition?
As far as I know, yeah.
[Eric] Have you ever experienced
hyperventilation syndrome?
- Yeah.
- [Eric] How many times?
- No idea. I've not kept count.
- A rough figure is enough.
I have not kept count, I said.
[Eric] Was it more than once?
- Yeah.
- [Eric] More than five times?
- That's likely.
- Ten?
- [Juri] No idea.
- More than 15?
No idea.
[Eric] Have you ever
received psychiatric care?
I've no idea what any of this
has to do with Terravision.
[Eric] Please just answer
my question, Herr Müller.
Yes, I've received care.
Have you ever heard
of the Chaos Computer Club before?
Why would you ask?
[Eric] Have you ever heard
of the Chaos Computer Club?
- Yeah, naturally.
- Do you have prior knowledge
that the Chaos Computer Club
targeted the Deutsch
main postal service and hacked it?
- Were you involved?
- No.
But you are aware that the Chaos Computer
Club has carried out what we call "hacks"?
- Yeah.
- [Eric] Did you know
that the Chaos Computer Club took part
in the so-called Pentagon hacks?
Yeah.
[Eric] Were you aware members
of the Chaos Computer Club
had sold data stolen
from the Pentagon to the KGB?
It was a different time.
- [Eric] I see. So you were aware of that.
- [Juri] Yeah, maybe, I don't know!
[Eric] You were a member
of an organisation
which conducted criminal activity
that threatened
the safety of American citizens
by your actions.
This has nothing to do with Terravision!
You said yourself that someone was
telling the truth and the other wasn't.
Didn't you just tell me that?
So one could assert that you,
a man who evidently
has psychological issues,
are a member of a criminal organisation?
No.
But when I look at your statements,
I come to that conclusion.
[yelling] I've never committed any crime!
I've never deceived anyone before.
I've never taken anything from anyone.
Do you know who the criminals are?
It's your employers who are.
These are the criminals.
Just like all the corporations are.
The trillion-dollar market
they have control over.
Who hoard their users' data, and
and then they sell it
to the highest bidder!
Who manipulate elections,
who deceive people like me
without ever being brought to justice
for their actions.
[shouts] These are the criminals!
[Lea] Herr Müller!
Herr Müller!
[Juri] That's not what we agreed!
You're my lawyers, you're on my side.
And we never agreed
that I would be interrogated about this!
You think they'll care
what you've agreed to in America?
Huh?
If that's how it's played
by the lawyers from Google,
that card in front of everybody in court,
we must know
how you're gonna react to that.
And what did you do?
Come up with some conspiracy theories.
[Eric] That's exactly what they want.
That is exactly what they want to achieve.
Somebody should have prepared me.
If you had been warned in advance, then
the whole thing would have been pointless.
And if they're able to rattle your cage
as much as I can,
then what do you expect will happen
in America when they do it?
We bothered to fly here
with ten staff members in total.
Explain every scenario to you,
prepare you for every possible question
you're likely to face at the real trial,
and that means what?
You go on a petty, huffy,
spiteful Google-is-evil rant.
No one cares.
And least of all me.
And quite honestly
keep going that way,
and you won't stand a chance.
And therefore the mounting cost
for this process could be spared,
and you can go back to Budapest
and water your goddamn daisies
or whatever it is you do down there.
Okay.
We'll go inside and continue rehearsing.
[softly] Fuck.
Instagram itself is art.
And Instagram itself is the gallery.
Yes, you could essentially say
that the traditional art market
is being abolished.
The gallery of the future is Instagram,
and the artist of the future
will be an influencer.
And if you take
that idea even further, then
- [Carsten] Please excuse me a moment.
- [Lea] Juri just bailed.
- What?
- Eric turned up the heat today.
And now Juri feels we crossed some line
we had no right to cross.
And where is he now?
I have no idea.
The hotel said he checked out.
And his phone is turned off.
[indistinct chatter]
Where's Juri?
Gone.
[Eric] What does that mean? "Gone"?
He's gone back to Budapest.
That's very funny. We've been training him
with an entire legal team. He can't just
He's in Budapest.
Fuck.
I'll go and get him.
Seriously? You don't even speak anymore.
We'll have to do something about that.
Would someone from your team
reserve a flight for me?
I'll head straight over there.
Juri's in Budapest?
[Lea] We don't know.
- We have to call the firm.
- We can't.
We are this close to the start
of the trial in America.
A trial that's gonna cost us
nearly ten million dollars.
- We have to call the firm.
- No, we can't.
If we tell them,
you know as well as I do what'll happen.
Yeah, and maybe that'll be a good thing
before we burn through more money.
We are not burning through money!
We are gonna win!
Not without our main witness.
Sorry, Lea. It's just how I see it.
Let's wait and hear
what Carsten says, please.
He'll bring him back.
I'm sure.
[aeroplane whooshing]
[indistinct chatter]
- [Carsten] Is the Realnet running?
- [Dos] I think so.
Okay, and is the Terrabase booted?
- [Dos] Yeah.
- Okay.
[Schmölders] What's going on with Juri?
What has he been doing
in there all this time?
[Alexander]
Writing a Google browser plug-in.
I don't understand.
Brian uploaded a demo of his
Google Earth forerunner on his website.
Juri wants to patch it
into the network traffic
- between the client and the server.
- What for?
[Alexander] So he can see
how Brian does the data collection
to find out how Google Earth works.
And ultimately, if it really does function
differently to Terravision.
[Carsten] Here.
Drink.
- Come on, you
- Don't touch that!
Leave it there.
[flight attendant]
Would you like anything to drink?
May I offer you something to drink?
No, thank you.
[keyboard clacking]
Look at this one.
You know, it's opening tomorrow night.
I think it'll be a great event.
I'd love it if you came.
[computer turns off]
Can I use your computer really quickly?
I need to run a few new
Terra routines on the RealityEngine.
When I choose to rest,
my computer also chooses to rest!
He's definitely getting
even more paranoid.
[pop music playing]
What an ironic twist of fate this shit is.
Terravision should have been
only a work of art.
And at some point,
it wasn't enough anymore.
Because it had to change the world.
Now, this is the only real recognition
it's ever likely to be getting.
- And it's as artwork.
- [chuckles]
[beeping]
- Oh, man.
- [laughs]
- What is it?
- It's gone and crashed again.
[both laughing]
I don't want to blame myself,
due to old sentimental reasons,
for picking the wrong horse to back.
Old sentimental reasons?
And now?
I have to reboot it.
Shitty media art.
I should've listened
to my professors, shouldn't I?
- Yeah.
- Been a painter, after all.
But seriously, your pencil drawings
with your application were so nice.
[chuckling] Shitty media art.
[Julia] She stood in front
of the dance school for an hour
waiting for you to come.
You can't just fly off somewhere
and hope someone will take care of Frieda.
[Carsten] I know.
I have an appointment tonight
which I can't cancel.
What am I supposed to do?
Uh, maybe she sleeps
at her friend's overnight?
Fine. Something like that.
I'll figure it out, then.
What are you doing in Budapest, anyway?
I mean, uh
I'm trying to find Juri to speak with him.
I thought that he was in Berlin
with you, for your training?
Yes, that's what I thought too.
No more.
So he comes all the way
to Berlin, and you don't talk,
and now you have to fly
to Budapest to do it?
I know. It's
[chuckles] Sounds really
bloody stupid, doesn't it?
Yeah. It doesn't just sound
really bloody stupid, it is.
I wish you luck.
- With Juri, I mean.
- Thank you.
[techno music playing]
- Have you seen Juri anywhere?
- No.
[young Julia] It is an honour for me
to introduce the artist, Carsten Schlüter,
and his team from Art+Com.
[crowd cheering]
Hey, come on.
- Thank you so much. That means a lot.
- Really good.
- Carsten, that was amazing.
- Yeah?
- It's really, really great, yes.
- This is groundbreaking. Really.
Yeah? Fabulous.
I know we were a little sceptical
back in the day about media art.
Yeah, even a little more,
I would admit, than sceptical.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
[chuckling]
[Carsten] I'm sorry, I I have to
- I'll come back, yeah?
- Yeah, of course.
- I'm so happy you came.
- Come on. Come here.
- What is it?
- I analysed the network traffic.
It's identical. It's fucking identical.
Even our addressing system,
the way that data is dealt with.
There's a million options out there,
yet they happen to use ours?
Juri
They've been lying to us
since the beginning.
It's the same as we are doing.
Juri, do you know what this is here?
Have you noticed what's behind me?
We must sue them.
We need to hire a lawyer.
For months, I told you we needed
to be in touch with a lawyer.
Months ago. Remember?
But you still thought Brian was a saint.
We'll hire a lawyer. Yeah.
But not tonight.
Because tonight, this is Terravision.
And they're loving it.
Hey, it's just like it was in Kyoto.
Shouldn't you, at least, for me?
Is everything okay?
- Yeah, sorry.
- Yeah?
We're talking to the firm in two hours.
- What?
- I just got the call confirmed.
[Lea] You are such an asshole.
My career is on the line here.
And honestly, so is yours.
[Lea scoffs]
Eric.
This is my case. I found it.
I convinced them to do it,
and I will not let you ruin it.
Enlighten me, then.
Why is this case so important to you?
Okay. Listen.
After Juri was convinced that Terravision
and Google Earth worked the same way,
they tried to find lawyers
to help them sue Google.
Now I have a question.
[Lea] But it was hopeless.
What exactly is a logarithm?
- [Juri] "Algorithm."
- Whatever.
Algorithm.
An algorithm is a manual of instructions
which solves complicated problems
on computer systems.
[Carsten] See, when you want to bake
a cake, you need baking instructions.
And an algorithm is like
the baking instructions for the computer.
And these baking instructions,
you gave them to Google, then?
[Carsten] No, to someone
who works with Google.
And he did what with them?
An Internet programme?
Yeah.
As far as I'm aware, nobody has made
any money on the Internet yet.
It was only a bubble.
Google will be the most powerful
corporation in the world.
[laughs] Now you're living
in a fantasy land, if you believe that.
I'll give you an honest appraisal.
I've been a patent attorney for 25 years.
I've led patent appeals
for toilet flushers,
learner wheels, designer bags
and a few bicycle valves.
But, uh, baking instructions
[chuckles] for the computer?
As much as I'd like to,
I lack the imagination.
[laughing]
Just let it go.
Go home and I'm sure another
algorithm will be found, all right?
"I'm sure another algorithm
will be found"?
Exactly. And when found,
better not talk about it anymore.
[Lea] You know what
touches me about their story?
I went to work for a firm
straight out of law school.
And since I studied
computer science before,
they put me in the division for I
and Software Patent Infringement.
And there were so many cases.
And all those cases were the same.
They were just like Carsten and Juri's.
On one side, a small company
with a patent for an innovative idea,
and on the other, a large
corporation infringing the patent
and making millions,
if not billions, on it.
And I had to write
to all those small companies,
telling them we couldn't take their case.
Because they never had a chance.
- Like something to drink?
- Even when Carsten and Juri found a lawyer
that knew what they were talking about.
Google wanted to pay $5 million
for our algorithm in the beginning.
Google made you a $5 million offer
and you turned it down?
We wrote back to them
with a written offer,
but then they didn't take us up on it.
[Lea] And this didn't just happen to them,
there was a pattern behind it.
I don't know if it's actually true,
but there's a story everyone tells.
Years ago, the big Internet
companies like Google
started writing to small companies
around the world
that held patents
their own products might infringe,
and Google made them an offer.
In order to avoid costly patent disputes,
the companies should just say themselves
what they thought
their patents were worth.
And of course, these companies,
they were overjoyed
that Google had contacted them
of its own accord,
and they made offers.
One million, five million.
Ten million at the most.
How many patents did Google end up buying?
Not one.
You wrote to Google
and gave them a written offer?
[Carsten] Yes, as I just said.
[breathes deeply, chuckles]
Oh, God. That changes everything.
Okay. Let me tell you something.
And I'll do it for free.
Do you know how much
a patent lawsuit in America costs?
Around $10 million.
But with your written offer, you've capped
the maximum damages, meanwhile,
at $5 million.
Nobody
Nobody in patent law is ever
gonna represent your case.
I'm sorry.
[Lea] Because the point
was never to buy their patents,
the point of the offers was to avoid
future patent infringement cases.
Of course, I had to appreciate how
brilliant that strategy was, how simple.
But I mean, I became a lawyer
to fight for justice, and not against it.
And all I could do was write again
and again and again, saying,
"Yeah, it's unjust."
"But there's nothing we can do for you."
They set us up.
This is so unbelievable.
It's completely insane.
I don't know what Brian
visited us in Berlin for,
unless he really meant what he said,
and he did want to work with us maybe.
But in the end, it means shit all.
They have our offer,
and we have nothing that matters.
We could go to America again
and speak to Brian, and
That's enough!
It's over.
They won't talk to us anymore.
When the patent lawyers
came to our office that day,
that was the last time
they were prepared to speak with us.
And what did they say to us? You remember?
"Go back to your little garage
and invent something new."
And you know what? They're right.
There's nothing we can do about it.
This is fucking Google, man.
They're better than we are.
- You promised we wouldn't give up.
- That's not fair. I tried everything.
- Then come with me to America!
- Do you have $10 million?
Do you have $10 million?
[Lea] But what the lawyers in Germany
overlooked was one phrase.
One little phrase in Juri's offer
that changes everything.
One day, we got this letter
from this German art professor.
And I just couldn't
bring myself to tell him
that the fate of their invention
had been long sealed.
So I opened up their documents,
and I read through them.
And at a certain point,
I stumbled across this phrase:
"If we enter into a collaboration."
At a seemingly meaningless point
in those documents,
this one single phrase,
"If we enter into a collaboration"
Eric, they never did enter
into a collaboration.
And I immediately knew
that was our loophole
that could nullify Art+Com's offer.
And that is why we're here, one single
phrase on which justice depends.
These two guys
they could succeed where all the other
little companies in the world failed.
They could see justice done.
"If we enter into a collaboration."
[tense music playing]
Juri?
At the University of Arts,
there's a professor in transmedia
design position that has opened up.
[Carsten sighs]
I didn't want to at first, but
I ended up applying, anyway.
When?
A couple of weeks ago.
And I got the job.
It's a done deal, then.
Well, then
[clapping]
The captain is leaving his sinking ship
first to save his own skin.
The ship has already sunk.
The ship sank ages ago.
To be honest, I wasn't the first person
to drill holes in the bottom of the boat.
That was you.
[Carsten] Juri?
Are you there?
Juri, are you home?
[Juri] What do you want?
You can't just walk away like that.
You're talking to me about
walking away, are you?
Is that still what it's about, then?
- Is that why you left?
- No, that's definitely not it.
But I'm not prepared to let some lawyers
sit there and call me a criminal.
I am not one. I'm not going
through all that a second time.
I'm not going to America just so they can
make me out to be a mentally ill criminal.
What's that?
Uh, two doners.
You didn't bring those
from Berlin, did you?
Yeah.
They're cold now, obviously, but, uh
I decided that
It's the thought that counts.
[clears throat]
Do you remember Connor?
- Mm-mm.
- 1995. The party in the desert, no?
The little crazy Irish guy
who took drugs all the time?
No?
Mm.
Connor was an IT student in Dublin.
He was doing an internship
at Silicon Graphics,
and he liked it so much
he just decided to stay.
One day, I saw Connor again,
in a photo in a magazine.
He's now on the team for the first
private space mission attempt.
[chuckles] I wasn't even envious
nor jealous at all.
I was only sad and absolutely livid.
Us not making it?
Whatever, I'll get over it.
But you just leaving me
I'm so sorry.
After you, Schmölders went too.
Then Bernd. Then Dos.
And last to leave was Alex.
Are you still in touch with anyone?
At some point,
I decided to fly back to California.
[woman speaking over PA]
When I sat on the plane,
on the seat in front,
there were these small built-in screens
on which you could follow the route.
- [Carsten] Oh, fuck.
- [Juri] They looked like shit.
[both laugh]
Seriously, they looked really bad.
Even you would've programmed them better.
[both laughing]
And at that moment,
because I then had a fit,
they must have had to somehow
carry me off the plane.
Holy shit.
- I didn't know.
- Well, how could you have known that?
[Carsten] Right.
People always say to me that they can
always remember exactly where they were
or what they were doing at that moment
when the World Trade Center was attacked
or when Diana died.
Honestly, I have no idea
what I was doing then.
But I will forever know the exact moment
when Google Earth came out.
DerSpiegel published a multi-page
article celebrating Google Earth
as an absolute sensation, I remember that.
And the incredible thing was [chuckles]
DerSpiegel had published the exact
same article ten years before about us.
[chuckling] I was so stunned.
Really. I called them.
I forced the editor
to go down to the archive
and made him find the article
and read it to me over the phone.
We were just simply forgotten.
History simply erased us,
as if Terravision had never existed.
What did you dig it up for?
Why did you contact that law firm?
We had a case against Google back then.
I know that our chances
were almost non-existent, but
you were ready to fight back.
For years, I tried to convince myself
that I didn't owe you anything,
that I had done
everything I could, but it's
[sighs]
But it's not true.
And it was clear to me
when Julia packed up and left.
The first night she was gone, I typed in
"American law firms" and googled.
[breathes deeply]
- All of these are yours?
- My father's.
For high diving, yeah?
Yeah, more or less, yeah.
I always wanted to do it too,
but I never dared.
Afraid of flying?
[both grunting]
Hmm. That platform is still there?
Yeah, I think so.
[clearing throat]
Forget it.
Oh, shit. It's cold.
Come on, get undressed. Come on.
If you try and push me or anything,
I'm going back down.
Promise, I won't.
Don't touch me, all right?
[breathing deeply]
[man on video call]
Is Juri Müller ready for America?
He is improving. I think
we'll definitely have him ready for trial.
And what do you think, Eric?
I was hard on him. It got personal.
But I think he did pretty well.
Excellent. Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
Now both our careers are up shit's creek.
Stop.
You're so good
with those sentimental stories.
And I'm a sucker for schmaltz.
Seriously, I owe you one.
Yeah, you sure do.
And I already know what it is.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
Pray that your two toothpicks stick
together when we go to court in America.
Three, two
and one!
["Push It" playing]
Push it real good! ♪
Ooh, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby ♪
Ooh, baby, baby, ooh ♪
P-Push it real good! ♪
Push it real good! ♪
Ow, ow! ♪
Push it real good! ♪
Ow! ♪
[woman] I think that kind
of sexual activity is disgusting.
[techno music playing]
Subtitle translation by
Michele Jochem Yunus