Statement on Meishe Company’s Final Trial Victory

After three years and seven months, the lawsuit regarding Meishe Company’s claim that ByteDance’s Douyin and eight other products engaged in code plagiarism has reached its final trial stage. The Supreme People’s Court has ruled in favor of Meishe Company, marking a significant victory in intellectual property protection.

Background of the Case
 In May 2021, Meishe Company discovered that the audio and video editing functionalities in Douyin and other related software had plagiarized Meishe SDK software, for which Meishe holds full intellectual property rights. Further analysis revealed similar infringements in additional applications, including Jianying (CapCut), Juliang Creative, Faceu, Tuchong, Qingyan Camera, Duoshan, and Volcano Engine VESDK—all owned by ByteDance or its affiliates.

In response, Meishe filed lawsuits with the Beijing Intellectual Property Court and the Beijing Higher People’s Court, alleging copyright infringement of computer software against ByteDance. Additionally, Meishe sued Douyin Company and one of its employees for misappropriation of technical secrets.

Court Rulings and Final Judgment
   At the end of June 2023 and May 2024, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court and the Beijing Higher People’s Court issued first-instance rulings confirming that Douyin and its affiliated companies had infringed Meishe SDK’s copyright. Douyin was ordered to issue a public apology and pay 26.704 million yuan in damages for economic losses and related expenses.

Both parties appealed to the Supreme People’s Court.

Recently, the Supreme People’s Court upheld the infringement ruling from the first-instance judgment while revising the compensation amount. Douyin and its affiliates were ordered to immediately cease infringing on Meishe SDK’s copyright, issue a public apology, and compensate Meishe with a total of 82.668 million yuan for economic losses and reasonable expenses across the nine cases.

Key Findings of the Supreme People’s Court
    1.    Refusal to Provide Source Code: Douyin and its affiliates refused to submit the software source code. The court determined plagiarism based on decompilation analysis, comparison of the target code, and software-specific similarities.
    2.    Misuse of Technical Secrets: Douyin and its employee unlawfully accessed Meishe’s software code, constituting infringement of technical secrets.
    3.    Legal Consequences: Douyin and its affiliated companies are required to stop the infringement, issue a public apology, and pay compensation.

Meishe’s Statement on the Ruling

Meishe Company welcomes this fair and decisive judgment, which underscores the country’s firm stance and strong measures in protecting intellectual property. This victory not only upholds justice but also reinforces a legal precedent for safeguarding innovation.

Moving forward, Meishe remains committed to technological innovation, enhancing research and development, strengthening intellectual property protection, and contributing to the advancement of China’s modern audio-video technology and broadcasting industry.

Meishe also calls on all sectors of society to prioritize intellectual property protection and foster a fair, competitive, and innovative market environment.

Meishe Co., Ltd.
February 13, 2025