What you took away is the painstaking effort I poured my heart into.

May 5 No Update Day
 
Recently, web novel authors under China Literature organized the "May 5th Update Suspension Festival" in protest against China Literature's "hegemonic contract," ceasing updates of their online serialized novels on May 5, 2020. The event aims to safeguard authors' legitimate rights and interests and firmly protest China Literature's exploitation of authors' copyrights.
 
The "May 5th Update Suspension Festival" does not require all authors to stop updating their works. Authors may also choose to mention the "May 5th Update Suspension Festival" in a single chapter of their novel, in chapter comments, or in reader groups, thereby promoting it and helping readers understand its deeper meaning. Moreover, the "May 5th Update Suspension Festival" will continue to endure as a special holiday and cultural phenomenon for online literature authors.
 

 

 
So what exactly kind of "hegemonic contract" could provoke such public outrage?
 
 

(The above are some terms of the contract allegedly signed between China Literature and authors)

 
 
 
Key points of the conflict
 
It can be seen that one point repeatedly mentioned in the author's obligations is “copyright”——
 
1. The author's copyright belongs to Yuewen, and the author receives no remuneration;
 
2. In the event of a copyright dispute with a third party, the author shall not only cooperate but also bear the related expenses themselves;
 
3. Yuewen may publish the author's works for free, and such behavior shall be deemed as promotion of the works rather than infringement of the author's rights, and the author must accept this.
 
4. During the term of the agreement, all copyrights of all works released at the launch event shall belong to Yuewen.
 
5. Yuewen also holds the priority right to publish an author’s works one year after the completion of their current work.
 
6. Yuewen may make the works available to the public for free at any time without the author’s consent, and this shall not constitute infringement;
 
…
 
 
Many online literature authors expressed:
 
"The author and Yuewen are no longer in a cooperative relationship; instead, they are 'ghostwriters' commissioned by Yuewen to create and write, because the copyright belongs to Yuewen."
 
“After the work is completed, the copyright does not belong to me, and I was even hired for free, because all my benefits come from a share of the ‘net profits.’”
 
“The copyright is not yours, but you pay for the lawsuit yourself.”
 
Although the author is "engaged" by China Literature, the two parties are not in an employment or labor relationship, and the author does not enjoy the benefits of China Literature Group.
 
……

 

 
What is copyright?
 
Copyright, also known as author's rights, is divided into moral rights and economic rights.
 
Moral rights refer to the author's right to gain reputation, prestige, and maintain the integrity of the work through creating works that express personal style. This right is held by the author for life and cannot be transferred, deprived, or restricted. After the author's death, it is generally protected by their heirs or legal institutions. According to China's Copyright Law, moral rights include:
 
1. The right of publication, which is the right to decide whether a work shall be made public;
 
2. The right of authorship, which is the right to indicate the identity of the author and to sign one's name on the work;
 
3. The right of alteration, that is, the right to alter or authorize others to alter the work;
 
4. The right of integrity, which is the right to protect a work against distortion or mutilation.
 
Also known as moral rights, these refer to the various rights of an author over their work that are related to or inseparable from the author's person and have no direct property content. Therefore, their characteristics are non-transferability, non-deprivation, and perpetuity.
 
Economic rights are the rights of an author to use their work themselves or to have it used by others, with material benefits as the content. The specific content of economic rights includes:
 
1. The right of reproduction, which is the right to produce one or more copies of a work by means of printing, photocopying, rubbing, sound recording, video recording, dubbing, or re-shooting;
 
2. Distribution right, i.e., the right to provide the original or copies of a work to the public by sale or gift;
 
(3) the right of rental, that is, the right to authorize others to temporarily use a cinematographic work or a work created by a process analogous to cinematography, or computer software for a fee, except where the computer software is not the main subject matter of the rental;
 
4. Exhibition right, i.e., the right to publicly display the original or copies of works of fine art and photographic works;
 
5. Performance rights, namely the right to publicly perform a work and to publicly transmit a performance of a work by various means;
 
6. Right of projection, i.e., the right to publicly reproduce works of fine art, photography, cinematography, and works created by a process analogous to cinematography through technical equipment such as projectors and slide projectors;
 
7. Broadcasting rights, namely the right to publicly broadcast or disseminate works by wireless means, to communicate broadcast works to the public by wire or by rebroadcasting, and to communicate broadcast works to the public by loudspeakers or other similar instruments that transmit signs, sounds, or images;
 
8. The right of information network dissemination, that is, the right to provide works to the public by wired or wireless means, so that the public may obtain the works at a time and place individually chosen by them;
 
9. The right of production, that is, the right to fix a work on a carrier by means of cinematography or a process analogous to cinematography;
 
10. Adaptation right, i.e., the right to change a work and create a new work with originality;
 
11. The right of translation, that is, the right to convert a work from one language into another language;
 
12. The right of compilation, that is, the right to assemble works or fragments of works into a new work through selection or arrangement;
 
13. and other rights that should be enjoyed by the copyright owner.
 

 
The author's view
 
 
Yuewen once said, “Writers are Yuewen’s most valuable asset,” but now Yuewen is using such overbearing contract terms to strip authors of their copyright. Yuewen also refuted this: “Moral rights of copyright are inalienable personal rights, and economic rights of copyright are granted through mutual negotiation and on a voluntary basis.”
 
The author can't help but ask: Online writers get neither reasonable royalties, nor retain their copyright, nor have an employment relationship with Yuewen. In the face of this completely unequal contract, where are the authors' interests and rights?
 
Some people write to earn a living, some write to briefly relax under the high pressure of reality, and some write to connect with like-minded friends in the world of online literature. Whether it's the basic need for food and clothing or the intimate communication of souls, the essence of an author is their work. It is the work that brings together readers from all over the world. This crystallization of wisdom should not be just rigid text but should have an identity and be protected.
 
How many authors have poured their hearts and souls into their works, spending countless sleepless nights refining their efforts into works published online. None of this should or can be taken away by anyone easily.