In some contract disputes between online hosts and MCN institutions, the profit sharing ratio and the amount of liquidated damages have become the core of the dispute - earning 2000 yuan for two months of live streaming, but having to pay 50000 yuan for terminating the contract? How to calculate the effective live streaming duration based on the reading prompt? How to determine the amount of income for anchors? How much is the compensation for breach of contract? In recent years, with the rapid development of the live streaming industry, contract disputes between online hosts and MCN institutions have become frequent. Live streaming for several hours a day, earning only 2000 yuan in two months? After signing the cooperation agreement, due to significantly lower than expected profits, anchor Xiaoxu chose to stop broadcasting and was claimed a penalty of 50000 yuan by his company for breach of contract. Recently, the People's Court of Chuanying District, Jilin City disclosed the verdict of the case. Considering that Xiao Xu's contract was only fulfilled for two months, his income was not satisfactory, and he lacked legal awareness as a newcomer in the industry, had limited fault, and insufficient evidence from his company, the court has adjusted the penalty to 1000 yuan at its discretion. In the just passed "Double Eleven", live streaming e-commerce was an innovative consumer scene. With the rapid development of the live streaming industry, contract disputes between online hosts and MCN institutions have become frequent, among which the profit sharing ratio and the amount of liquidated damages are the core disputes in some cases. The unclear agreement on some revenue sharing clauses has been noticed by reporters that in some contracts signed between online hosts and MCN institutions, there are situations such as setting high-intensity live streaming hours, unclear work standards, and vague breach of contract clauses. Xu Zewei, who has been working in the field of e-commerce live streaming for several years, provided a "Anchor Cooperation Agreement" to a reporter from the Workers' Daily, stating that the agreement was made by a certain MCN agency and required the cooperating anchors to sign it. "Many MCN agencies use this type of contract template. The reporter saw in this contract that both parties agreed that "the anchor's monthly live streaming hours shall not be less than 26 days, the daily live streaming hours shall not be less than 6 hours, and the total monthly live streaming hours shall not be less than 156 hours". If the anchor has a "breach of contract" such as a live streaming duration lower than the agreed upon amount in the current month, "Party A has the right to suspend the issuance of guaranteed income, deduct or stop the distribution of live streaming revenue, live streaming sales revenue or short video revenue, stop financial support, and recover Party B's self withdrawn income, reissued guaranteed income and short video revenue, as well as Party A's actual investment expenses in the early stage. However, 'how to calculate live streaming duration' is a confusing area for some anchors. In the above-mentioned "Anchor Cooperation Agreement", the reporter found that the clause regarding "live streaming duration requirements" clearly states that "the live streaming duration that meets the requirements of Party A's live streaming content can be confirmed as valid live streaming duration", while the requirement for "live streaming content" in the contract is relatively vague and lacks specific details. Regarding the revenue sharing between both parties, the "Anchor Cooperation Agreement" and its attachment "Anchor Performance Plan" specify that the anchor's guaranteed minimum revenue for the first month is 2000 yuan, and they can receive a share upon meeting specific conditions. MCN institutions will provide a 1% to 14% share to some anchors based on net revenue and cooperation income, and MCN institutions have the right to change the share ratio according to policies, markets, effects, etc. In the view of professors from the School of Labor Economics at Capital University of Economics and Business, although some anchors and MCN institutions have an equal subject brokerage contract relationship, some MCN institutions use their advantageous position to create a dazzling industry halo and attract workers to enter this industry, but in reality, they sign unfair brokerage contracts. What should be done when there is no agreement or unclear agreement in the contract? In a case concluded by the Haidian District People's Court in Beijing, there was a dispute between anchor Xiao Liu and a brokerage company over profit sharing. The court ruled that the two parties should divide the profits according to the median value agreed upon in the agreement. The presiding judge of the case stated that in such situations, the parties should first negotiate. If it cannot be determined, the purpose should be to encourage transactions and achieve fairness, in order to promote the continued performance of legally established contracts. If the penalty for breach of contract is too high, it may face adjustment. The reporter saw in the above-mentioned "Anchor Cooperation Agreement" that the "liability for breach of contract" section specifies that the anchor's daily transaction must be returned to the company account. If it is not returned on the same day, the anchor shall bear 10 times the compensation. If the anchor publishes articles, videos, agreements, or communication matters that infringe on the company's reputation on any third-party platform, they shall pay the company a penalty of 500000 yuan for breach of contract. Zhao Hu, a partner at Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm, said that whether the penalty for breach of contract is supported by the court is generally influenced by two aspects, namely whether the contract has clear provisions and whether the agreed amount is too high. The determination of whether the liquidated damages are too high is usually based on the actual losses of MCN institutions. If the liquidated damages far exceed their actual losses, the court may adjust them at its discretion. The reporter learned that the 34th batch of guiding cases issued by the Supreme People's Court clearly states that if an online anchor claims that the breach amount stipulated in the contract is significantly high and requests the court to adjust it, in situations where the actual loss is difficult to determine, the court can use the actual income that the anchor has already obtained from the platform as a reference standard, combined with the characteristics of the online live streaming industry, and fully consider factors such as the platform's initial investment, platform traffic, and anchor commercial value to make a reasonable judgment. In addition to civil contracts, some anchors have labor contract relationships with MCN institutions and also face disputes related to profit sharing and liquidated damages. Lv Ru, who used to work as a full-time anchor at an online education institution in Beijing, told reporters that some product or service brands will open internal live streaming rooms and recruit anchors and operation staff, managing anchors according to the traditional labor contract. Some companies engage in online education and hire anchors to sell virtual course packages or physical teaching materials in their live streaming rooms. The anchors are required to clock in to work every day and calculate the performance of the anchors and operational positions based on the transaction volume. In the view of Hu Shengguo, director of Beijing Zhongshou Law Firm, the legal relationship between anchors and MCN institutions currently presents diversified characteristics, including labor relationships that exhibit "dominant labor management" characteristics, as well as cooperative relationships reached through civil and commercial contracts. "The legal relationship between the two parties has a significant impact on the validity of the contract and the subsequent process of rights protection. Clarify the nature of legal relationships and contract terms. Different legal relationship natures imply differences in the application of law. ”According to the scope analysis, if it is determined that there is a labor relationship between the anchor and the MCN organization, then the clauses in the contract regarding live broadcast duration, performance accounting, reward sharing, liquidated damages, etc. should comply with relevant provisions of labor laws and labor contract laws. Shen Jianfeng, Director of the Academic Committee of the Law School of the China Academy of Labor Relations, told a reporter from the Workers' Daily that "regardless of whether the anchor and MCN institution form a labor relationship or a cooperative relationship, the calculation standards and payment nodes for the profit sharing between both parties should be clearly stated in the contract terms, and the setting of liquidated damages should be linked to the actual loss of profits". Shen Jianfeng believes that at the legislative level, it is necessary to further respond to the flexible employment characteristics of the digital age, seek a balance between labor protection and contract freedom, implement classified policies, and solve the legal adaptation problem of the employment model that is both regulated and has certain freedom. Industry organizations can introduce classification contract templates, clarify necessary clauses such as job content, profit sharing, and penalty setting, standardize supplementary rules for unclear situations, and reduce disputes from the source. He suggested that for training period anchors, attention should be paid to their labor rights protection issues, and for top anchors, reasonable scope of non compete restrictions should be emphasized. Zhao Hu reminds anchor practitioners that if they need to sign a labor contract with MCN institutions, they should be wary of clauses such as "deducting performance for substandard sales" that may transfer the operational risks of MCN institutions to anchors. If a civil contract is signed, it is necessary to focus on the balance of rights and obligations, such as whether exclusive cooperation clauses match resource support, clarifying the calculation method of benefits, avoiding ambiguous clauses or implicit deduction clauses, and verifying the reasonableness of liquidated damages. ”Zhao Hu said. (Xu Zewei and Lv Ru are pseudonyms) (New Press)