TikTok’s Heavy Baggage of Lawsuits

TikTok’s troubles are far from over. After the data security scare rose in the United States and a nation-wide ban in India, TikTok again has been legally challenged for infringement of patents. On August 14, Pixmarx filed a lawsuit against TitTok Inc. in the United States District Court for the infringement of three of its digital photography patents.

ByteDance-owned TikTok has 2 billion downloads worldwide and is known for the feature of short videos with music in the background that can be sped-up, slowed down, or edited with a filter. Pixmarx, a Texas-based IP has alleged that a recently rolled out feature of TikTok was made available by their application in November 2013.

Triller, a rival U.S based application, has already sued TikTok in July for the ‘Green screen video’ feature introduced by TikTok to its subscribers in December. This feature allows users to shoot multiple videos and synchronize them with an audio track. Adding to this is Pixmarx’s argument that most of Tiktok’s interface is copied and they were the ones who came up with ‘embeddable content based on a digital imaging device’s location’.

The Texas company is now requesting declaratory relief and damages including royalties to compensate for Tiktok’s infringement. The relief will include past and future damages under 35 USC and 284 as well as supplemental damages. No comments have been released by the ByteDance owned app so far.

Massive patent infringements will be a hassle for the application, TikTok, keeping in mind the talks of a buyout by Microsoft. Patent lawsuits are long-drawn and patience-testing battles. What will be even more complicated for Pixmarx will be to prove the patent for image editing specific to its app? TikTok will have to roll up its sleeves to surmount the challenges in the wake of its booming success?