The Relationship Between TikTok and IP Law

Author: Philip Chang, J.D. Candidate, 2023

Tik Tok is a perfect application for students with limited time; all of the videos on the application are relatively short, at less than 60 seconds. However, the application has had its fair share of controversies. Prominent examples include safety concerns for minors and the U.S. government labeling it a national security threat. But one fundamental issue with TikTok, which few have noticed while the application’s popularity has skyrocketed, is that its platform, in part, depends on the use of unlicensed songs. As The Fashion Law reports, an estimated “50 percent of the music featured in TikTok videos is unlicensed.”¹ According to Digital Music News, TikTok received over 10,625 copyright takedown notices in the first half of 2020.². 

Fundamentally, TikTok’s use of unlicensed music poses a problem for the owners of those works. For one, copyrights protect original works by artists and companies. And when TikTok uses that property without the proper licensing, the creators of those works miss out on fair compensation. Copyright violations have long plagued the music industry. Considering how the internet has made copyright violations easier to accomplish and identify than ever before, TikTok poses an interesting challenge: some speculate that TikTok is just a class-action copyright lawsuit waiting to happen³, while are more optimistic given the application’s recent global licensing agreement with Sony Music as reported by The Industry Observer.⁴ Although the specifics of the deal have not yet been revealed, it does grant TikTok access to a library of songs under Sony Music’s possession. However, one licensing deal with Sony does not solve all of TikTok’s current copyright violations, and it certainly does not mean the same issue will not arise in the future with songs owned by other music companies. Moreover, although such deals may be available for powerhouse music companies, they are likely to be harder to strike for independent artists, who also might not be receiving royalties when TikTok uses their songs.

For law students interested in practicing in IP law, the proliferation of applications like TikTok brings up questions—how is a company that inherently benefits from copyright violations going to survive potential lawsuits? How do music companies decide which claims are worth pursuing? Because it’s easier than ever to stream, download, distribute, and dance to unlicensed songs on TikTok, it seems as though copyright infringement through the application has rampantly increased.
Ultimately, it’s likely that TikTok will not be the last application to capitalize, even if inadvertently, on the unlicensed use of songs or any other form of copyright media. As it increases in popularity, it seems plausible to discern that copyright violations might increase. Moreover, it is nearly impossible to keep track of all of the various copyright violations, even though TikTok publicizes how many videos it takes down and why. Still, it seems that these issues are a part of how TikTok flourishes. It does not seem plausible that the company can obtain all the proper licensing for the hundreds of thousands of songs used on the application. Regardless, TikTok may not even want to because so many companies and artists seem to be unaware of infringing content, to begin with. Holistically, both practicing and prospective IP attorneys should be aware of these issues.