TikTok and its parent company ByteDance are fighting back in a patent infringement case that has been brought by smaller rival Triller in the U.S. The companies filed a case in San Francisco federal court in response to a patent infringement lawsuit that social video platform Triller filed in July in Waco, Texas. The patent in question relates to creating music videos synchronized with audio.
Triller claims that TikTok and ByteDance have been infringing its patents and using its technology for years. ByteDance denies this and argues that Triller’s allegations have cast a cloud over its business.
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. 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.
Mike Lu – CEO Triller
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.
A judicial declaration is necessary to resolve the real, immediate, and justiciable controversy concerning these issues and to determine the respective rights of the parties.
ByteDance and TikTok Lawyers
Triller’s complaint named both ByteDance and TikTok and alleged that they have infringed U.S. Patent No. 9,691,429 titled, Systems and methods for creating music videos synchronized with an audio track.
According to Triller’s 19-page legal document filed in Texas this summer, and which you can read in full here, TikTok is accused of infringing on a feature that allows users to stitch multiple videos together while using a single audio track.
The feature in question, TikTok’s Green Screen Video effect, was introduced on or about December 11, 2019 and allows users to shoot multiple video takes synchronized to an audio track according to the complaint.
We brought a claim against them for this violation over three months ago, and they have failed to respond, claiming they didn’t have the time. This is nothing more than a transparent attempt by a Chinese conglomerate with tens of thousands employees to manipulate the US legal system by not responding to Triller’s complaint or answering for their violations. Instead, they are attempting to skirt law so that they can keep stealing IP and technology.
We will not be intimidated and we will not back down. We may be small, but we have right on our side. This is not about TikTok and Triller this is about all of the hard-working US entrepreneurs whose companies and technology continue to get ripped off by Chinese-based and Chinese government-controlled entities with unlimited resources entities that play by a different set of rules.
This is a David and Goliath story, and we look forward to our day in court, as well as our David and Goliath ending. We’re not only standing up for Triller we’re standing up for its investors, its entrepreneurs, its employees, and all US-based businesses who have to deal with this on a daily basis.
