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

May 5 No Update Day
 
Recently, web novel authors under Yuewen, in protest against Yuewen's "hegemonic contract," jointly launched the "May 5 No Update Day" event, which involves stopping updates on online serialized novels on May 5, 2020. The event aims to protect authors' legitimate rights and resolutely oppose Yuewen's exploitation of authors' copyrights.
 
Participation in "May 5 No Update Day" does not force all authors to stop updating; authors can also mention "May 5 No Update Day" in their novel's single chapter, chapter comments, or reader groups to promote and help readers understand the meaning behind it. Moreover, "May 5 No Update Day" will continue as a special festival and cultural phenomenon for web novel authors in the future.
 

 

 
So what 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 China Literature, and the author receives no income;
 
2. If a copyright dispute arises with a third party, the author must not only cooperate but also bear the related costs themselves.
 
3. Yuewen can publish authors' works for free, which is considered a promotion of the work rather than an infringement on the author, and the author must accept this.
 
4. During the contract period with Party B, all copyrights of all works released at the press conference belong to Yuewen.
 
5. Yuewen also has the priority right to publish works released one year after the author completes the final draft.
 
6. Yuewen can make works freely available to the public at any time without the author's consent, and this is not considered infringement.
 
…………
 
 
Many online literature authors expressed:
 
"The author and Yuewen are no longer in a cooperative relationship; instead, the author is a 'ghostwriter' commissioned by Yuewen to create, because the copyright belongs to Yuewen."
 
"After the work is completed, the copyright is not mine, and I was even hired for free, because all my benefits come from a share of the 'net profit.'"
 
"The copyright is not my own, but when it comes to litigation, I have to pay out of my own pocket."
 
"Although the author is 'hired' by Yuewen, the relationship is not one of labor or employment, and the author does not enjoy Yuewen Group's benefits."
 
……

 

 
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, i.e., the right to decide whether to make the work public;
 
2. The right of authorship, i.e., the right to indicate the author's identity and to affix the author's name to the work;
 
3. The right of revision, i.e., the right to revise or authorize others to revise the work;
 
4. The right of integrity, i.e., the right to protect the work from 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, that is, the right to produce one or more copies of a work by means of printing, photocopying, rubbing, sound recording, video recording, dubbing, or photographic reproduction;
 
2. The right of distribution, that is, 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 cinematographic works, works created by a process analogous to cinematography, and computer software for a fee, except where the computer software is not the main subject of the rental;
 
4. The right of exhibition, that is, the right to publicly display the original or copies of works of fine art and photographic works;
 
5. The right of performance, that is, the right to publicly perform a work and to publicly broadcast the performance of a work by various means;
 
6. The right of projection, that is, 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. The right of broadcasting, that is, the right to publicly broadcast or disseminate works by wireless means, to communicate to the public the broadcast of works by wired transmission or rebroadcasting, and to communicate to the public the broadcast of works by loudspeakers or other similar tools for transmitting symbols, 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, enabling the public to obtain the works at a time and place individually chosen by them;
 
9. The right of cinematography, that is, the right to fix works on a carrier by cinematography or by a method similar to cinematography;
 
10. The right of adaptation, that is, 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 or script into another;
 
12. The right of compilation, that is, the right to compile 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 precious asset," but now Yuewen uses such overbearing contract terms to deprive authors of their copyright. Yuewen also refuted this, saying, "Moral rights in copyright are indivisible personal rights, and economic rights in copyright are granted voluntarily after mutual negotiation."
 
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.