A man holding a phone walks past a sign of Chinese company ByteDance’s app TikTok, known locally as Douyin, at the International Artificial Products Expo in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China October 18, 2019.
Reuters
Social media app TikTok and its Chinese parent ByteDance are fighting back in a patent infringement case that has been brought about by smaller rival Triller in the U.S., according to a report from Bloomberg published late Wednesday.
The companies filed a case in San Francisco federal court Wednesday in response to a patent infringement lawsuit that social video platform Triller filed in July.
“TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have been infringing on Triller’s patents and stealing its technology for many years — enriching themselves and their investors at Triller’s expense,” Triller CEO Mike Lu reportedly said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. “This is nothing more than a transparent attempt by a Chinese conglomerate with tens of thousands employees to manipulate the U.S. legal system by not responding to Triller’s complaint or answering for their violations.”
In the latest legal complaint, TikTok and ByteDance reportedly argue that Triller’s allegations have “cast a cloud” over ByteDance’s business. ByteDance is now requesting a court order that it, its products, and its users don’t infringe upon the patent and that none of them are liable for damages or injunctive relief, according to Bloomberg.
The patent in question relates to systems and methods for creating music videos synchronized with audio. Triller argued in its complaint that it owns the patent, while ByteDance argues that TikTok doesn’t perform the steps covered by the patent.
TikTok and Triller did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. CNBC located the court filing but was unable to access it. Â
Read the full story on Bloomberg here.
