TikTok owner ByteDance has launched a contest against Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings to secure trademark rights to its version of the 'Doge' emoji, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Tuesday.
ByteDance Network Technology Co Ltd filed the application last week with the name "dog head big battle", data from TianYanCha revealed.
Trademark competition between the two firms comes as Chinese tech giants vie for mobile handset users.
Data from a China Netcasting Services Association survey in October 2020 found Chinese users were spending more time on video apps rather than social media, SCMP reported.
A Weibo subsidy has applied for similar trademarks, the report added. The three firms have not responded for comment.
“It’s an important step for [trademark authorities] to determine if similar applications may lead to confusion in pronunciation, image or implication. The three pictures are all based on dog heads... But it depends on the authorities whether they deem them too similar or not,” intellectually property lawyer for Beijing East IP Law Firm Gao Tianle said in a statement.
Gao added the trademarks were at the application stage and could take up to nine months to be fully examined.
Trading for the altcoin surpassed $0.42 at its highest peak and stabilised at $0.39. The cryptocurrency, launched as a joke in 2013, features a famous Shibu Inu dog meme which gained a massive following on the internet.
Famous people backing the digital coin include Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, rapper Snoop Dog and KISS rock star Gene Simmons. A "Dogecoin Army" has been formed on social media to support the cryptocurrency.
