20 August,2019 07:12 AM IST | Mumbai | Diwakar Sharma
This picture has been used for representational purpose only
Film producer Mehmood Ali is set to file a perjury case against Chinese mobile application TikTok, after its officials dragged him to the Bombay High Court, and allegedly told a lie. TikTok officials approached the High Court on August 13 and filed a complaint against Ali's company Don Cinema, after allegedly learning that he was planning to launch a reality show called 'TikTok House,' without authorisation from them.
The high court told Don Cinema not to use 'TikTok' in the title of the reality show. Hence, Don Cinema decided to use the title 'Toker's House'.
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However, Don Cinema claimed TikTok did not send the notice to them in time and lied on oath about serving the legal notice to them, and hence will take them to court. "The hearing date was August 14 and TikTok claimed to have sent us a notice on August 9. However, we received the notice on the evening of August 14. This is why we are going to file a perjury case against TikTok for telling a lie in court," said Ali's counsel, Ali Kaashif Khan.
Khan said, "They (TikTok) approached the high court after they learnt that Don Cinema was going to launch a reality show, 'TikTok House' on August 15. Its officials apparently learnt this through online news articles, but we never made any statement saying this."
"Bytedance group's (owner of TikTok) advocates have lied on oath about serving a legal notice to us. We didn't receive any notice before the hearing day. They filed this bogus case with malafide intentions to harass my client, and out of jealousy from Don Cinema's success ratio," he added.
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Khan claimed that the Indian representative of TikTok, Kyle Chan, spoke to Ali on WhatsApp chat on August 9, asking to be a part of Don Cinema. "When Ali declined, they filed the case," he said.
Ali told mid-day that TikTok had been pursuing him to join hands with them for two months. Ali said, "When I refused, they approached the High Court where they told a lie. We are going to launch a reality show titled 'Toker's House' on September 2. There will be 25 influencers from social media who are TikTok stars, in the show, which will be streamed live on Don Cinema App or our website."
"We welcome this decision by the Honourable Court and believe that this outcome will be well received by India's growing digital community. We take issues of brand integrity very seriously. In line with this, we are committed to taking appropriate action against any individual or party who may seek to misuse or wrongfully associate themselves with the TikTok brand in any way," said a TikTok spokesperson.
Also Read: Man who abandoned wife found on Tik Tok after 3 years dating trans woman
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