Golden Spoon Investor

Once outside the building, Seok-won and Landon got into the backseat of the waiting limousine.

As the limousine smoothly glided along the road and across the campus, Landon glanced over at Seok-won, who had sunk into the plush leather seat and spoke.

"Do you think they'll accept our proposal?"

"Why would it be difficult?"

Landon met Seok-won's gaze, hesitated for a moment, and then showed a sceptical expression.

"Honestly, I don't think it will be easy. It's a technology they take great pride in, and NCSA would hardly want to hand over the intellectual property rights to Mosaic."

Seok-won then lifted one corner of his mouth slightly and replied.

"I think they'll oppose it."

"...?"

"Sure, Mosaic is a great achievement for NCSA, but at the same time, it's a huge headache for them."

Seeing Landon tilt his head in confusion, Seok-won continued.

"While the number of Mosaic users is still growing, I'm sure they're aware that complaints are also rising due to frequent errors."

"That's what I've heard."

"So, what do you think the issue is?"

"Isn't it the problem that key developers, including Tom Harper, left the project?"

"That's not wrong, but there's an even more decisive reason."

"What's that?"

"It's because it's not profitable."

"...!"

"Mosaic is fundamentally a free web browser. But as the number of users grows, the cost of maintaining it inevitably increases."

"That makes sense."

"From NCSA's perspective, with a limited budget, it won't be easy to keep allocating unlimited resources—money and personnel—to the Mosaic project. To be blunt, Mosaic isn't the only development project they have."

Landon nodded slightly, as if in agreement.

"After hearing that, it does seem like it."

"However, since they are a research institute established for the public good, it's difficult to monetize Mosaic and generate revenue."

So, after much thought, NCSA had come up with a workaround: outsourcing the intellectual property rights to Mosaic to an external company in exchange for royalty income.

Fortunately, they haven't thought of that solution yet. So, the possibility of acquiring the intellectual property rights is higher for us.

As Landon listened intently, Seok-won continued.

"Even if they take the risk of criticism and attempt to switch to a paid model, considering the poor revenue structure of the internet market, making a profit won't be easy. In fact, given the increasing maintenance costs, it would be lucky if they don't run into a deficit."

Landon, with a worried look on his face, asked,

"Isn't that the same for Netscape?"

"It is, for now."

Seok-won admitted it without hesitation, and Landon looked even more puzzled.

"Then wouldn't it be better to pull out now before they incur more losses?"

"That's true for now, but I didn't say they'll never make money in the future."

"Eh?"

Landon blinked, not immediately understanding the meaning.

"Do you think I'd do something foolish like burning money without any gain?"

With a meaningful smile on his lips, Seok-won spoke confidently.

"Right now, it's a bottomless pit, but in no time, it will turn into a golden pot. Just wait and see."

Although it seemed uncertain, Landon didn't question Seok-won further, knowing that it was Seok-won's plan.

"Now that I think about it, you might be right. NCSA might sell the intellectual property rights. But isn't $5 million a bit too much?"

The amount Seok-won proposed to pay for the intellectual property rights was $5 million.

"Do I look like I'm asking for too much?"

"Honestly, yes."

Seok-won, still smiling, replied.

"Maybe so, but don't you think you need to offer a price that's just high enough to make them seriously consider the deal?"

"$5 million is definitely an amount that would catch NCSA's attention."

Landon shrugged.

While $5 million was no small sum, it was a relatively insignificant amount compared to Seok-won's wealth, so Landon let it slide.

Even at that moment, as bonds and the U.S. stock market were crashing, Seok-won's pockets were being filled with tens of millions of dollars in real time.

Seok-won, sitting with one leg crossed, suddenly spoke as if he had just remembered something.

"Oh, and let's create a separate entity to manage patents professionally."

"Understood."

Seok-won, not Netscape, was planning to purchase the intellectual property rights to Mosaic.

So, if NCSA accepted the proposal, it would be more convenient to create a separate corporation to manage the rights.

This might be a good opportunity to set up a patent management company (NPE) and turn it into a new revenue stream.

An NPE, often referred to as a "patent troll," is a company that buys patents from individuals or businesses without engaging in any actual production activities, simply collecting royalty income.

As Seok-won thought about the numerous patents that could provide an endless stream of revenue, his smile deepened.

After a few more meetings, as Seok-won had expected, NCSA decided to sell all intellectual property rights to the Mosaic web browser for $5.5 million—$500,000 more than the initial offer.

Seok-won sat once again across from Deputy Director Jason in the same conference room where they had first met, took out his fountain pen, and signed the contract in front of him.

As expected, Jason, having just finished signing, stood up with a broad smile and extended his hand first.

"Our first meeting was uncomfortable, but I'm glad we could end things with a smile."

Rising from his seat, Seok-won shook the offered hand and smiled.

"I feel the same way."

While the two exchanged brief words, Landon, who was standing beside them, carefully reviewed the contract to ensure everything was in order before taking it with him.

"If the $5.5 million sale price is deposited into the NCSA account by the end of today, the contract will be fully completed."

Jason looked at him and spoke.

"Now that the intellectual property rights are all transferred, I feel somewhat bittersweet."

"I can imagine."

Although Jason said that, it was clear he was inwardly pleased, having sold the Mosaic intellectual property rights—a project that had brought no profit but was too valuable to simply discard—for a substantial sum.

But before long, he'll regret this deal deeply.

Once they realize they've sold a massive golden opportunity for practically nothing, they'll be furious, claiming they were deceived. But this was all a result of NCSA's own actions.

Seok-won didn't show any sign of his true thoughts and smiled gently at Jason.

"I'd love to continue our conversation, but I have another appointment, so I must be on my way."

"Oh dear, I've been keeping you here when you're so busy. Since it's come to this, I hope your new web browser will be a success."

"Thank you."

With the contract now fully completed, he left the conference room with Landon.

The limousine they were in headed straight to the airport where the business jet was waiting.

Glancing at the partitioned driver's seat, Landon casually brought up a topic.

"Jason, I bet he's probably laughing inside, thinking that no matter how many new web browsers they release, they won't make any profit and will end up in the red."

"That's probably true."

Seok-won chuckled and then confidently declared in a firm voice.

"But he'll regret it soon."

"Having spent $5.5 million to acquire the intellectual property rights, they're bound to have some regrets, don't you think?"

Then, Landon suddenly spoke as if remembering something.

"Oh, by the way, I heard NCSA plans to dismantle the Mosaic development team."

Seok-won was slightly surprised by this unexpected news.

"Really?"

"Yeah. They're leaving the Mosaic browser as it is, but they're disbanding the development team and won't be doing any further upgrades."

"Even though the browser already has frequent errors and gets a lot of complaints from users, they're not going to upgrade it? It's essentially like abandoning the Mosaic web browser."

"As you said, they've been struggling with the error issues, and on top of that, with the transfer of the intellectual property rights, it seems they've decided to wash their hands of Mosaic altogether."

"That makes sense."

Although they had sold all the intellectual property rights, NCSA still had the provision to continue using the source code and patents as they were, which meant there were no issues with continuing to provide the Mosaic browser.

'I thought Mosaic would continue to operate for a while due to the pride of being the first proper graphic web browser capable of displaying both images and documents. But this is really surprising.'

In reality, while it lost its power as competitors quickly caught up and gained market share, the service continued until the mid-90s.

'Did my involvement change the course of things?'

Although they could continue using the intellectual property rights related to Mosaic, there were restrictions on its commercial use.

'In other words, if they wanted to make money with Mosaic, they would have to pay me royalties.'

Since NCSA had already determined it wasn't going to make money, it was highly likely that they decided to call it quits earlier than expected, causing Mosaic to fade out sooner than its original history would have suggested.

Reflecting on the early exit of such a meaningful web browser in internet history, Seok-won was brought back to reality by Landon's voice.

"Anyway, with the strong competitor disappearing on its own, this works out well for us, doesn't it?"

"True."

With a calm response, Landon squinted his eyes and asked.

"Was this something you intended?"

"Do you think so?"

Seok-won shook his head, but Landon still stared at him with a suspicious look.

"I thought everything lined up perfectly, so I assumed you foresaw this and bought the intellectual property rights intentionally."

"If that were the case, it would have been great, but unfortunately, that's not the case this time."

Yet Landon still didn't seem convinced.

Though he was trying to act otherwise, his thoughts naturally led him to suspect that Seok-won had already set up the entire situation and was merely executing a plan he had orchestrated from the start.

"Well, if that's not the case, then it seems like the boss has an uncanny knack for luck. It almost feels like the goddess of fortune is biased in your favour, and it's a bit enviable."

Hearing that, Seok-won let out a quiet chuckle. Just then, his phone, which had been tucked into his jacket pocket, rang.

He took the phone out and answered. Tom, from Silicon Valley, immediately asked in a slightly nervous tone.

[How did the contract go? I've been so curious, I couldn't wait to call.]

"I was just about to call you. The contract went through without any issues."

[So now there are no problems at all?]

In a cheerful voice, Seok-won gripped the phone tighter and responded.

"Yeah. We've secured all the intellectual property rights related to Mosaic, so don't worry and develop the browser to your heart's content."

[As expected, I knew you'd be able to handle it!] Tom cheered, his voice filled with excitement.

[Now that the obstacles are out of the way, we should be able to finish the beta version by July at the latest.]

"Really that soon?"

Seok-won asked, slightly surprised.

[Yeah, I got so pissed off at what NCSA was doing that I pushed the accelerator harder.] Seok-won thought back to the office scene he had witnessed before.

The employees, who looked like they were half-zombified, and Tom, who hadn't even been going home, stayed at the office to eat and sleep.

Given the state of the office then, it was probably now a pigsty.

"Isn't it a bit too rushed? It's great to finish quickly, but if the quality suffers, that could actually work against us."

[Do you think I'd do something that stupid? I'd rather push back the schedule than release a half-baked product. I can't let my pride allow that.] Hearing Tom's confident voice, Seok-won nodded, relieved.

"I've left the browser development entirely in your hands, so I trust you'll handle it well. I'm already curious about what kind of amazing browser you're going to create."

[At the very least, it'll be a lot better than Mosaic, so you can look forward to it.]