Tencent escalates legal battle against TikTok owner ByteDance over copyright infringement of popular anime series
- Tencent has filed 168 copyright infringement claims against ByteDance-owned Douyin since June this year, seeking total damages of 3 billion yuan, according to local media report
- The copyright disputes between Tencent and Douyin come amid Beijing’s intensified scrutiny over content on short video platforms
Tencent Holdings has significantly increased its damages claim against Douyin, the Chinese version of ByteDance’s TikTok short video app, for alleged copyright infringement of a popular anime programme airing on the Shenzhen-based internet giants video channel, according to Chinese media.
In an updated motion filed to the Chongqing No 1 Intermediate People’s Court earlier this month, Tencent upped its infringement claim to 800 million yuan (US$123 million) from the previous 61.6 million yuan, according to a report by Chinese state-owned newspaper Securities Times.
The case centres on Douyin’s alleged copyright infringement of Soul Land, an anime series that airs exclusively on Tencent Video.
The newspaper cited an anonymous source close to ByteDance who said that Tencent has filed 168 copyright infringement claims against Douyin since June this year, seeking total damages of 3 billion yuan.
Tencent and ByteDance did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Soul Land, a martial arts anime with nearly 36 billion views so far, has been partly available for free on Tencent’s video platform, but more recent episodes are only available to paying subscribers.
