TikToker sues rival for copying content in ‘game-changing’ lawsuit

A TikTok user has sued a rival influencer for imitating her content, and if successful, the lawsuit could forever change how content is shared. 

TikTok influencer Sydney Nicole Gifford has half a million followers for her aesthetically pleasing posts full of white, black, and beige hues.

While there is no exact rule prohibiting individuals from using user videos as an influence for their own, Sydney filed a lawsuit against TikToker Alyssa Sheil for essentially copying her content.

Not only does Alyssa’s TikTok page have a similar aesthetic to Sydney’s, with the same color scheme, but she has also posted “nearly identical videos.”

According to court documents, at least 40 posts on Alyssa’s platform were “identical styling, tone, camera angle and/or text,” to Sydney’s.

Alyssa also had one of her TikToks removed by the platform after she posted an imitation slideshow of one of Sydney’s Amazon home product posts.

Though the two serve as rivals online, they were once acquaintances and even met in person. In December 2022, they met in Texas “with the intent of supporting one another’s business,” said Sydney in the court papers.

However, Alyssa blocked Sydney online after they came together in a joint photoshoot just a month after meeting. She then began posting similar content.

According to Sydney’s lawyer, Kirsten Kumar, “Ms.Gifford’s goal is to protect her work from being infringed upon by an imitator. This case is significant because it asks the court to apply long-standing principles of the law to modern-day challenges surrounding online content creation.”

If the lawsuit is successful in Sydney’s favor, Tiffany Ferris, partner and chair of the Trademark and Advertising Group at international law firm Haynes and Boone, said it “could change the influencer game as we know it.”

She added that creating content would begin to be “remarkably difficult for influencers.”

Though Sydney’s copyright infringement lawsuit was filed in April, the outcome has not been decided yet.