Meishe Counters: We Hold the Copyrights and the Proof
Meishe, however, claims otherwise. In its own motion, it insists it has both registered and unregistered copyrights, along with a declaration from XAT confirming that any rights to the Meishe app were transferred to Meishe in full. The company also alleges that TikTok’s summary judgment bid is a smokescreen to deflect from the former employee’s alleged misconduct.
The former staffer, Meishe contends, took the code to TikTok where it was weaponized for monetized video apps under the company’s umbrella. That alone, Meishe argues, qualifies TikTok—and by extension parent company ByteDance—for vicarious liability, even if direct infringement isn’t proven.
TikTok: No U.S. Copyrights, No Scienter, No Case
TikTok countered that Meishe never registered its copyrights in the U.S., and that the claims rely on “speculation rather than evidence” of intent or knowledge—key to trade secret violations. ByteDance, TikTok said, is being unfairly dragged in as a “passive equity holder” that played no role in the alleged conduct.
