When you sign the contract you have to give your real identity with a prove. And since it's tencent who own Webnovel, I think they may have lawyer in each country.
Obviously i did not fully write this. It would have taken me hours to write something like this. I wrote an ugly essay with all the information and asked ChatGPT to write it correctly.
The Enforceability and Practical Implications of International Arbitration.
WebNovel, an online platform that publishes novels, mandates dispute resolution through international arbitration. Theoretically, this implies that WebNovel would need to undertake a meticulous legal process to demonstrate a contractual breach if any dispute arises with an author.
International Arbitration and Accessibility:
Most online authors, due to lack of resources, face significant challenges when required to contest in international arbitration located in jurisdictions such as Hong Kong. Consequently, they may find themselves in default, unable to present their case adequately. However, even in default situations, WebNovel bears the burden of proving the breach of contract, a task often complex and necessitating specialized expert testimonies.
Challenges in Proving Breach:
Proving a breach is not only arduous but also financially taxing. The procurement of experts to establish that an author uploaded the story on competing platforms like Wattpad can escalate the costs exponentially. Nevertheless, if WebNovel decides to invest in proving the breach and succeeds, enforcing the arbitral award is the subsequent hurdle they must overcome.
Enforcing Arbitral Awards:
Enforcing an arbitral award predominantly depends on the New York
Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, of which the targeted country must be a signatory. Subsequently, WebNovel would need to initiate legal proceedings in the respective country, where national courts would scrutinize the award's compliance with national law. This process can be cumbersome and time-consuming, often extending to at least a year, especially if it demands identifying and locating the individual involved.
Asset Seizure and Legal Evaluation:
Assuming national courts decide to enforce the award, the exact location and assets of the author must be determined, which may entail the disclosure of the author’s address. The enforcement could include seizing assets equivalent to the value of the intellectual property in dispute. Notably, many penalty clauses in such contracts are likely to be deemed disproportionate and thus, unenforceable due to their incongruity with the overall value of the asserted asset (intellectual property).
Conclusion:
While international arbitration clauses like the ones stipulated by WebNovel appear robust on paper, their enforceability is often hampered by practical, legal, and financial constraints. The multifold challenges ranging from proving breach, accessing international forums, and enforcing awards render these clauses less effective, especially when dealing with individuals lacking the resources to engage in international legal battles.
The penalty clauses, often viewed as unbalanced and extravagant in relation to the value of the intellectual property in question, might be met with skepticism in national courts. These inherent limitations and potential legal impracticabilities underscore the need for a more equitable, accessible, and balanced approach to dispute resolution in international online publishing contracts.
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