TikTok and its parent ByteDance sued rival Triller, asking a US judge to clear up a “cloud” over the China-based popular video-streaming app after Triller accused it of stealing technology, reported Caixin.
The case filed Wednesday in San Francisco federal court is a response to a patent-infringement suit Triller filed against ByteDance in late July in Waco, Texas, a hub for complaints by patent owners looking for a friendly judge and quick litigation, said Caixin.
The patent, issued in June 2017 and assigned to Brooklyn-based Mibblio Inc., covers systems and methods for creating music videos synchronized with an audio track. Triller, in its Texas complaint, said it owns the patent. ByteDance says TikTok doesn’t perform the steps covered by the patent.
Triller Chief Executive Officer Mike Wu fired back, saying “we may be small, but we have right on our side. 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,” he said in an emailed statement.