TikTok prevailed in a trade mark infringement case against them brought by Stitch Editing who were seeking $116 million in damages.
Stich Editing is a major video editing firm that provides services to major singers in the music industry such as Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. The company is also involved with commercial brands such as Nike, Samsung, and Louis Vuitton.
In 2020, TikTok created a video editing tool which is called “Stitch”. This technology allows users to integrate clips from other user’s videos into their own videos within the TikTok app and has become an extremely popular feature with TikTok users.
However, as Stitch Editing have a U.S. trade mark for “Stitch Editing” it had led to them filing a claim against TikTok in early 2021 for trade mark infringement. Stitch Editing argued that TikTok’s use of ‘Stitch’ for a video editing software will likely cause confusion for their registered mark and a “Stitch” mark that is claimed under common law. It was further said that this potential confusion will make consumers think that the brands are affiliated, and it can affect Stitch Editing’s reputation.
TikTok disagreed with the claim that their use of the word “Stitch” causes consumer confusion between the brands TikTok and Stitch Editing. TikTok stated to the court that Stitch Editing’s trade mark does not give them a global monopoly on the use of the word “Stitch” when referring to the process of combining clips.
After a seven-day trial, it was held that TikTok were not liable for infringing the registered “Switch Editing” mark and that Switch Editing did not have the common law rights in the “Stitch” mark. Therefore, it is concluded that there was no likelihood of confusion, and that Stitch Editing will not receive the $116 million in damages that they were claiming.
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By Abhiraj Aujla
