Users of the Chinese short video app Douyin, TikTok’s Chinese cousin, will now be able to generate content using Tencent’s copyrighted clips, a landmark shift in a sector where the internet giants once labored to shut off their platforms to rivals’ users, reports Caixin. The move comes after the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology told Chinese internet firms to stop blocking each others’ links—the so-called “walled gardens” strategy that they used to protect their own digital ecosystems.
ByteDance-owned Douyin announced Friday that it has received a request from Tencent to connect the tech giant’s content service platform with its own platform, according to a Friday post by the short video app. Linking the two platforms will allow Douyin users to edit Tencent’s copyrighted films and TV shows to create their own videos.
Douyin offered no timetable for the change. Tencent Holdings Ltd. told Caixin that it is currently getting in touch with many other third-party platforms to offer them access to its copyrighted content.
In August, Douyin took down thousands of user-generated clips after the Shenzhen-based tech titan accused it in a lawsuit of violating its copyright on a Tencent Video-streamed crime drama. In the suit, Tencent demanded Douyin pay it RMB 100 million ($15.4 million) in damages.
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