Douyin, Tencent bury hatchet, reach video cooperation agreement

Douyin and Tencent's relationship has often been marked by lawsuits and public spats

Douyin, the Chinese counterpart of TikTok, and internet giant Tencent have agreed to explore the joint promotion of short and long videos, in a thawing of frosty relations that has often been marked by lawsuits and public spats.

Douyin, which like TikTok is owned by ByteDance, said in a statement it is now authorised to use Tencent Video content and rules about how secondary content can be generated have been clarified.

Users of platforms in the Douyin Group including Douyin, Xigua Video and Toutiao will be able to create short videos using the content in long videos on Tencent platforms, it said.

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Tencent, which backs rival short-video platform Kuaishou Technology, had long been upset over how some Douyin users would create short videos using copyrighted material in long videos without obtaining approval.

"The latest development not only helps to settle the ongoing IP disputes but also helps to lay a framework for future collaborations between the two video platforms," MorningStar analyst Ivan Su said.

Chinese regulators have in recent years reprimanded the country's tech giants for creating "walled gardens" that prevents rivals' links and services from being shared on their platforms.