AI Drug Discovery Booms in China Chinese Upstart Companies and IT Goliaths Hope to Turn Country’S Artifcial Intelligence Prowess Into World-Leading Drug Innovation

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

AI Drug Discovery Booms in China Chinese Upstart Companies and IT Goliaths Hope to Turn Country’S Artifcial Intelligence Prowess Into World-Leading Drug Innovation news AI drug discovery booms in China Chinese upstart companies and IT goliaths hope to turn country’s artifcial intelligence prowess into world-leading drug innovation. Do they have an edge over Western players? hinese researchers are abuzz about the potential of artificial intelligence C(AI) in drug design and development. Just last month, three Chinese players raised hefty sums to fuel their drug discovery plans. Insilico Medicine, a Hong Kong–based company with half its global operations in Shanghai, raised $255 million to push drug candidates discovered by its AI into clinical trials and tune its algorithms to find new targets. That followed $100 million pocketed by Beijing StoneWise Technology in April and $319 million that Shenzhen-based XtalPi added to its coffers last September. IT goliaths like Tencent, Baidu and ByteDance have also been turning their formidable AI capacity to drug design. With an ambitious national strategy aimed at AI dominance, a massive talent pool of AI researchers, a plethora of contract research organizations (CROs) with which to partner, and evolving health data privacy protections, Chinese AI companies are T he Chinese government’s regulatory reform is designed to boost AI-driven drug discovery, but attitudes poised to compete in the global race to toward data privacy continue to cause international concern. Credit: THANANIT SUNTIVIRIYANON / make more drugs faster and cheaper. But Alamy Stock Photo even if a population of 1.4 billion can supply the wealth of data that will give Chinese AI companies a head start over Western counterparts, questions remain as to the Since then, though, the situation has for new pipelines and with it a curiosity to quality of the preclinical and clinical data changed rapidly. AlphaGo’s victories over see what AI had to offer. In 2019 Hansoh being used to train company algorithms. top human Go players in 2016 and 2017 Pharmaceutical Group, for example, agreed “If you come here and see what is focused industry attention on the potential to pay fees that could amount to over a happening, it impresses you,” says Alex of AI as a path to success in the minds billion dollars to Atomwise to design Zhavoronkov, founder and CEO of Insilico of many young Chinese. The following drugs targeting up to 11 proteins involved Medicine. Kai-Fu Lee, CEO of Sinovation year, the central government launched an in cancer and other disorders. And while Ventures, a venture capital firm based in ambitious framework to make China a XtalPi has received most of it partnering Beijing that invests in AI companies, agrees: global leader in AI by 2030 that led money from US companies, China is “China does have a state-of-the-art ability to to, among other things, new university now its fastest growing market. “For build drug discovery systems.” training programs. [Chinese] companies with little experience But Chinese AI drug hunters are of innovation, AI represented a way to latecomers. Over the past decade, companies “Top AI experts in China cost leapfrog,” says Ma. like Atomwise, BenevolentAI (London), more than in the United States Researchers in China responded to Exscientia (Oxford), Relay Therapeutics and the call. In a “storm of activity,” computer Numerate were working out big deals with and tend to move around.” scientists, physicists, mathematicians and multinational pharmaceutical companies. traditional drug discovery researchers Even the two most prominent AI drug Around the same time, Chinese launched over 50 AI drug discovery design companies now associated with regulatory reform gave innovative drug companies, says Zhang Jian, who runs a China—Insilico Medicine and XtalPi—were discovery, including that based on AI, a molecular design laboratory at Shanghai both established in 2014 in the United States. boost. Updated bioequivalence rules in 2015 Jiaotong University and has worked with a At the time, Chinese AI drug research was and new volume-purchasing stipulations handful of AI drug design startups. In 2019, getting little traction. “When I first came have meant that innovative drugs are Zhang helped to reposition Shanghai-based back to China in 2015 and started talking increasingly favored over generics, which Nutshell Therapeutics, which just raised its with Chinese pharmaceutical companies, had previously dominated China’s drug second installment of $20 million in June, it was apparent that most of them were not market. The new rules tip the scales in favor as an AI drug design company. In 2018, interested in or were not ready for AI in of the quickest and most forward-looking Zhou Jielong, a key force behind the drug R&D,” says XtalPi co-founder Ma Jian. manufacturers. That created a huge demand evolution of Baidu’s search engine, 900 NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY | VOL 39 | AUGUST 2021 | 897–907 | www.nature.com/naturebiotechnology news established StoneWise to aid in the discovery China-based researchers account for 22.4% of small-molecule drugs. of the total, compared with 16.4% from WHO takes up CRISPR Industry insiders and drug discovery Europe and 14.6% from the United States, babies researchers in the United States have according to a recent report from Stanford More than two years after the birth remained skeptical of the AI hype and University. And for the first time last year, of twin girls with edited genomes, an claims that AI can improve the attrition AI publications from China garnered more advisory panel for the World Health rate once drug programs reach human citations than US ones. China still lacks Organization (WHO) has issued proof-of-concept studies. Chinese scientists who will make fundamental new recommendations that uphold researchers argue that, given this breakthroughs, represented by the top 1% the agency’s initial reaction: that “it conservative thinking, Chinese companies of the papers—especially the highly cited would be irresponsible to proceed with might be able to leverage the move to AI conference papers, says Lee. “When it comes clinical applications of human germline faster than Western companies: “China to really the most creative out-of-the-box genome editing.” Such concerns over doesn’t have a traditional way to do thinkers, the US still leads,” he says. manipulation of human embryos are discovery, so there’s no box. Those people But that might not matter for drug shared by the international scientific don’t have other rules in their mind,” says Yu discovery. Chinese companies can tinker community, but few countries have Zhengtian, co-founder of Nutshell, which with AI algorithms based on generative regulations in place for the responsible uses AI to predict allosteric properties of adversarial networks or generative use of genome editing techniques, and disease targets. cooperative networks—most of which were when they do have guidelines, they China’s large population and massive developed in the United States, Canada or are often unenforceable. The WHO’s hospitals make it easy to aggregate large data Europe—because they are often open source 18-person expert panel has now come up sets—a crucial requirement for training AI. and publicly accessible. “You change a few with broad recommendations that address There is also less concern about privacy in words and change the whole concept. You the scientific, ethical, social and legal China, meaning that the data are easier to can find a way to address the question you implications raised by the prospect of access. Lee says that AI companies in the have,” says Nutshell’s Yu. “The science is editing the genome of a human embryo. United States in particular are hobbled by from there [the West], but the technology The first statement sets out five regulations, such as the Health Insurance is from here.” scenarios where gene editing might be Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Lee says that the approach of Chinese AI applied—somatic genome editing for which sets standards for how electronic drug discovery may also be more pragmatic, sickle cell disease, somatic gene editing health records can be shared. HIPAA makes something he thinks gives China an edge. for Huntington’s disease, somatic gene it difficult, even when patients have given DeepMind, a Google subsidiary that has editing by “unscrupulous” actors, consent, to pull data together, says Lee. stunned researchers by solving a decades somatic gene and epigenetic editing for Although the Chinese government is about old protein folding riddle, might win the enhancement, and germline editing— to come out with severe penalties for those Nobel Prize or Turing award, but Chinese and lays out the technical, ethical and who sell leaked personal data, companies companies are “very good in monetizing societal issues that each faces. The second like Yidu Cloud, which brings together AI, creating value with AI, building new set of recommendations outlines the consented patient data into a research tool, products with AI,” he says. role that the WHO should undertake are emerging to ensure the data can be The explosion of interest and in establishing a moral and scientific accessed, says Lee. Their counterparts in opportunities in AI has, however, driven leadership role. Among them are creating the US—Flatiron Health, Tempus, Aetion up wages and made it difficult to retain a registry of clinical trials involving and Palantir—are similarly consolidating expertise. Top AI experts in China cost gene editing and working with patent real-world electronic health record data on a more than in the United States and tend to holders and regulatory agencies to insure massive scale for use in drug discovery. move around, says Zhavoronkov. Insilico that the technology, once developed, is But many of the data are of poor quality, mainly hires AI expertise outside mainland widely accessible. which can mislead the AI. “Data quality is China. Insilico, whose research stretches While these guidelines present absolutely critical.
Recommended publications
  • Commerce Department's Ban on Wechat and Tiktok Mobile
    Alert Commerce Department’s Ban on WeChat and TikTok Mobile Applications Delayed on Eve of Implementation September 22, 2020 On Sept. 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce Department”) issued its eagerly anticipated regulations under President Trump’s Aug. 6, 2020 Executive Orders (“E.O.s”) relating to the mobile applications (“apps”), WeChat and TikTok. As explained below, the regulations sharply restrict transactions involving either app within the United States, beginning on Sept. 20, 2020.1 At the same time, the Commerce Department refrained from imposing sanctions on use of the apps outside the United States or on trading in the securities of WeChat’s and TikTok’s parent companies. Both sets of regulations were scheduled to begin to take effect on Sept. 20, but due to subsequent developments in the courtroom and the boardroom, neither will. On Sept. 19, 2020, a federal judge in California granted a motion for a preliminary injunction which will — at least temporarily — curtail the government’s ability to implement the WeChat ban. And on the same day, following the announcement of a bid by Oracle Corp. (“Oracle”) for the U.S. operations of TikTok, the Commerce Department temporarily delayed implementation of the TikTok ban for one week. Background The Aug. 6, 2020 E.O.s vest broad authority in the Commerce Department to prohibit persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction from engaging in transactions with the Chinese companies that own TikTok and WeChat.2 E.O. 13942 targets ByteDance Ltd. (“ByteDance”), the owner of TikTok Inc. (“TikTok”); E.O. 13943 targets Tencent Holdings Ltd.
    [Show full text]
  • China's Global Media Footprint
    February 2021 SHARP POWER AND DEMOCRATIC RESILIENCE SERIES China’s Global Media Footprint Democratic Responses to Expanding Authoritarian Influence by Sarah Cook ABOUT THE SHARP POWER AND DEMOCRATIC RESILIENCE SERIES As globalization deepens integration between democracies and autocracies, the compromising effects of sharp power—which impairs free expression, neutralizes independent institutions, and distorts the political environment—have grown apparent across crucial sectors of open societies. The Sharp Power and Democratic Resilience series is an effort to systematically analyze the ways in which leading authoritarian regimes seek to manipulate the political landscape and censor independent expression within democratic settings, and to highlight potential civil society responses. This initiative examines emerging issues in four crucial arenas relating to the integrity and vibrancy of democratic systems: • Challenges to free expression and the integrity of the media and information space • Threats to intellectual inquiry • Contestation over the principles that govern technology • Leverage of state-driven capital for political and often corrosive purposes The present era of authoritarian resurgence is taking place during a protracted global democratic downturn that has degraded the confidence of democracies. The leading authoritarians are ABOUT THE AUTHOR challenging democracy at the level of ideas, principles, and Sarah Cook is research director for China, Hong Kong, and standards, but only one side seems to be seriously competing Taiwan at Freedom House. She directs the China Media in the contest. Bulletin, a monthly digest in English and Chinese providing news and analysis on media freedom developments related Global interdependence has presented complications distinct to China. Cook is the author of several Asian country from those of the Cold War era, which did not afford authoritarian reports for Freedom House’s annual publications, as regimes so many opportunities for action within democracies.
    [Show full text]
  • Tiktok and Wechat Curating and Controlling Global Information Flows
    TikTok and WeChat Curating and controlling global information flows Fergus Ryan, Audrey Fritz and Daria Impiombato Policy Brief Report No. 37/2020 About the authors Fergus Ryan is an Analyst working with the International Cyber Policy Centre at ASPI. Audrey Fritz is a Researcher working with the International Cyber Policy Centre at ASPI. Daria Impiombato is an Intern working with the International Cyber Policy Centre at ASPI. Acknowledgements We would like to thank Danielle Cave and Fergus Hanson for their work on this project. We would also like to thank Michael Shoebridge, Dr Samantha Hoffman, Jordan Schneider, Elliott Zaagman and Greg Walton for their feedback on this report as well as Ed Moore for his invaluable help and advice. We would also like to thank anonymous technically-focused peer reviewers. This project began in 2019 and in early 2020 ASPI was awarded a research grant from the US State Department for US$250k, which was used towards this report. The work of ICPC would not be possible without the financial support of our partners and sponsors across governments, industry and civil society. What is ASPI? The Australian Strategic Policy Institute was formed in 2001 as an independent, non-partisan think tank. Its core aim is to provide the Australian Government with fresh ideas on Australia’s defence, security and strategic policy choices. ASPI is responsible for informing the public on a range of strategic issues, generating new thinking for government and harnessing strategic thinking internationally. ASPI’s sources of funding are identified in our Annual Report, online at www.aspi.org.au and in the acknowledgements section of individual publications.
    [Show full text]
  • Case 6:21-Cv-00504 Document 1 Filed 05/18/21 Page 1 of 18
    Case 6:21-cv-00504 Document 1 Filed 05/18/21 Page 1 of 18 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS WACO DIVISION BEIJING MEISHE NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD., Case No. 6:21-CV-504 Plaintiff, JURY TRIAL DEMANDED v. TIKTOK INC., TIKTOK PTE. LTD., BYTEDANCE LTD., and BYTEDANCE INC., Defendants. ORIGINAL COMPLAINT Plaintiff Beijing Meishe Network Technology Co., Ltd. (“Meishe”), by and through counsel of record, asserts the following claims of copyright infringement against Defendants TikTok Inc. (“TikTok Inc.”), TikTok Pte. Ltd. (“TikTok Pte. Ltd.”), ByteDance Ltd. (“BL”), and ByteDance Inc. (“BI”) (collectively, “Defendants”). SUMMARY OF THE ACTION 1. This is an action for copyright infringement of Meishe’s software copyrighted and registered with the Copyright Protection Centre of China (CPCC). Plaintiff Meishe is, and at all material times hereto, has been the owner of the copyright of Copyright Registration Nos. 2015SR227927, 2018SR037751, 2018SR037747, 2018SR038324, 2018SR218096, 2018SR218287, 2019SR0901188, 2019SR0901198, 2019SR0901209, 2019SR0899912, 2019SR0899814, 2019SR0899799, 2019SR0901175, 2019SR0901166, 2020SR0291426, 2020SR0575533, 2020SR0572713, 2020SR0572704 (“Copyrighted Work”). 2. Meishe’s Copyrighted Work is a foreign work as defined by the Copyright Act and a copyright registration is not necessary to bring a claim of copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. 1 Case 6:21-cv-00504 Document 1 Filed 05/18/21 Page 2 of 18 § 101 and 17 U.S.C. § 104(b)(2). 3. Meishe is a smart video and audio total solution service provider that has been focusing on the development of the video and audio field for 20 years. Meishe’s service content includes intelligent processing, recognition and deep learning of mobile video and audio images, covering customers in various industries such as mobile APP, smart phones, smart hardware, radio and television, and communication operators.
    [Show full text]
  • Analysis of Bytedance with a Close Look on Douyin / Tiktok ——————————————————
    —————————————————— Analysis of ByteDance with a close look on Douyin / TikTok —————————————————— Author: Xiaoye SHI Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Didier SORNETTE A thesis submitted to the Department of Management, Technology and Economics (D-MTEC) of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Management, Technology and Economics June 2019 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor Prof. Dr. Didier Sornette, who has kindly given me countless guidance and advice throughout the Master thesis. I appreciate the opportunity to work on this interesting topic under the Chair of Entrepreneurial Risks and is deeply grateful for all the help received along the process. I also want to express my deepest gratitude to my parents, who have been supportive and encouraging under all circumstances. Without them, I would not be able to become the person I am today. - 2 - Abstract In 2018, ByteDance, a young Internet company with only 6 years of history, broke out on various news headlines as the highest valued unicorn. With the acquisitions of musical.ly and Flipgram, the company’s flagship product Douyin strikes to develop its global presence under the name TikTok. This thesis analyzed Douyin’s historical growth and revenue model. As a main revenue driver, future user growth is predicted and calibrated by extending the methodology proposed in earlier studies by Cauwels and Sornette. We considered three growth scenarios – base, high and extreme, and estimated Douyin as well as ByteDance’s value based on comparable company analysis. ByteDance’s key performance metrics and multiples were compared with four other firms in the similar industry, Facebook, Weibo, Momo and iQIYI.
    [Show full text]
  • Investing in China: Consumers and Technology Recovering
    MAY 2020 Investing in China: Consumers and technology recovering FRANKLIN TEMPLETON THINKSTM EQUITY MARKETS Introduction China has been much in the news recently as it handles the COVID-19 virus, and because of political and trade tensions with the West. We continue to believe China remains a growth opportunity for investors. Indeed, by early-March, the Chinese A-share market hit a 12-month high and was one of the world’s best-performing equity markets. Our emerging markets team was on the cusp of publishing fresh thoughts on China in January when Beijing locked down China’s economy to flatten the COVID-19 infection curve. In scenes that were soon replayed across the globe, factories, offices, restaurants and shops all closed. Although China’s economy is opening again, it’s not back to normal. Companies like Foxconn, which assembles iPhones for Apple, aren’t back to full employment due to sagging global demand. Overall, retail activity is improving, but discretionary spending remains muted, while lingering anxieties over infections are accelerating consumer migration to more online purchases and home deliveries. That said, the macro themes and companies our emerging markets analysts wrote of in January remain relevant to investors looking for growth opportuni- ties today. In the near-term, we believe the business prospects for the companies we highlight have brightened. Whether trade tensions eventually prompt companies like Apple to pull supply chains out of China remains to be seen. This updated discussion offers a window into a post-COVID-19 economic recovery. Stephen Dover, CFA Head of Equities Franklin Templeton 2 Investing in China: Consumers and technology recovering Innovation at work In the wake of the global COVID-19 recession, we believe China’s long-term prospects remain intact.
    [Show full text]
  • Trump's Shakedown of Tiktok, in the Name of National Security
    Trump’s shakedown of TikTok, in the name of national security By Larry Edelman Globe Staff, Updated August 3, 2020, 1 hour ago NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 03: In this photo illustration, a mobile phone featuring the TikTok app is displayed next to the Microsoft logo on August 03, 2020 in New York City. Under threat of a U.S. ban on the popular social media app, it has been reported that Microsoft is considering taking over from Chinese firm ByteDance. (Photo Illustration by Cindy Ord/Getty Images) CINDY ORD/GETTY Is it possible to see China as a serious threat to the United States while still feeling some unease about the Trump administration’s extortion of Zhang Yiming, the Chinese entrepreneur behind the social media app TikTok? Yes. f ’ ’ b bl h d f ik k l il l h If you’re over 25, you’ve probably never heard of TikTok — at least until recently, when President Trump said he would ban the video-sharing app (think Snapchat or Instagram with more music) in the United States. The stated reason: national security. On Monday, Trump said he would give Zhang and China-based ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, until Sept. 15 to sell the social media network’s operations here, either to Microsoft, which has stepped forward as the likely buyer, or another bidder. Otherwise he’ll pull the plug on the app. (It’s not clear Trump could prevent American users from accessing TikTok through overseas connections, but that’s a topic for another time.) The administration’s action is predicated on concern that Beijing could force TikTok to turn over personal data on its 100 million American users (out of 800 million worldwide), plant spyware or malware on their mobile phones, or spread pro-Chinese propaganda or disinformation.
    [Show full text]
  • China Transformed Bytedance 1 2
    China Transformed ByteDance 1 2 Rui Ma 0 2 Tech Buzz China H T 6 Y A M ByteDance ByteDance is currently the world’s most valuable start-up, with a valuation estimated at $400 billion. Founder Yiming Zhang seized on China’s push to mobile and believed in providing users with machine learning recommendation algorithms that propose relevant information to consumers versus traditional search. The result was ByteDance, a company that is constantly looking to reinvent itself but remains centered around dominant apps such as Douyin, Tik Tok, and Toutiao. US-China Series and our China Transformed Series was joined by Rui Ma – Venture Capital / Early-Stage Investor. Rui has fifteen years of experience in technology and finance, spanning seed stage to pre-IPO investing spread evenly between the U.S. and China. She is also the founder of the media/podcasting company Tech Buzz China. Rui’s deep dive into ByteDance reveals a company that has always trail-blazed. It found funding challenging to come by in the early stages as its products/technologies were new, untested, and went against the grain of copying existing business models from Silicon Valley. This quickly changed with the success of the news app Toutiao, which swiftly grew to 100 million daily active users, contributing to the bulk of the company’s revenues. ByteDance’s willingness to experiment was apparent when implementing many new features in Toutiao, including video content; this innovation set the stage for its biggest success: Douyin. The rest is history. With a possible IPO this year, ByteDance could be worth half a trillion dollars in the post-IPO period.
    [Show full text]
  • Bytedance-Tiktok-Unicorn
    How TikTok’s Owner Became The World’s Most Valuable Unicorn cbinsights.com/research/report/bytedance-tiktok-unicorn ByteDance, the China-based unicorn behind the video-sharing app TikTok, was recently valued at up to $140B. Now, the company is leveraging its recommendation algorithms to expand its portfolio in a bid to join the ranks of Big Tech. Get the full report At the end of 2018, Chinese tech startup ByteDance completed a $3B investment round led by SoftBank at a valuation of about $75B — catapulting it to be the most valuable startup in the world. In 2020, investments made in the company reportedly valued it at up to $140B, cementing its high-flying status. Those who are unfamiliar with the name ByteDance have most likely heard of its flagship product, TikTok. As of May 2020, the viral video app has been downloaded approximately 2B times. The onset of the global coronavirus pandemic and the associated lockdowns have further accelerated TikTok’s trajectory. In Q1’20 alone, TikTok accumulated 315M new downloads worldwide — a record-breaking quarter for an individual app, according to Sensor Tower. As of spring 2020, ByteDance operates more than 20 apps in spaces ranging from news and video to music and mobile gaming. Some, like TikTok, are international in scope. Others, like the news aggregator product Toutiao, have so far only been made available in China. With each new product it launches, ByteDance leverages the same 3 key advantages it has cultivated in its core business areas like news curation and short-form video: A young and highly engaged user base.
    [Show full text]
  • Chinese Tech Landscape Overview NSCAI Presentation
    Chinese Tech Landscape Overview NSCAI Presentation epic.org EPIC-19-09-11-NSCAI-FOIA-20200331-3rd-Production-pt9 000534 EP,c-,,,,_,,,_,,,,,, May 2019 "Core tech" vs. "tech enabled" businesses • Being regarded as a core-tech business is glamorous -- everyone wants to believe and talk about their technological capabilities as a moat. But there are few industries where that 's actually the case. o e.g. mass deployment of machine vision for medical diagnosis is not blocked by the tech. o There are relatively few "core tech businesses" that compete in markets where cutting edge technology is the primary axis of competition and barrier to entry (e.g. Intel, Nvidia, Waymo, ) • It is more useful to understand most of these companies as "tech-enabled businesses". o e.g. Facebook, Uber, Linkedin, and Airbnb derive their power from network effects. Amazon's e-commerce platform derives its power from heavy capex. epic.org EPIC-19-09-11-NSCAI-FOIA-20200331-3rd-Production-pt9 000535 EPIC-2019-001-000603 epic.org EPIC-19-09-11-NSCAI-FOIA-20200331-3rd-Production-pt9 000536 WeChat(6 ) 0 BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) - The Big 3 Q. Search .. J.:11llll~ fJ ~ You have added ;}:JJ as your WeChat c. • Tencent ($504B Valuation): Social and gaming. Best known for Subscriptions , • -. El 1559]jl1,i,r fft.!!ff\25!11:itfi,P~OIJM8 creating WeChat. Also the largest gaming company in the world. lilLR:::lo &f GGV 996 .,,"'ttH_o+ ,, DJ> (34 mossagos] lW' Cloo nera ara 60% of all mobile time in China is spent on Tencent properties.
    [Show full text]
  • Mass Internment Camp Implementation, Abuses
    CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA ANNUAL REPORT 2020 ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION DECEMBER 2020 Printed for the use of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China ( Available via the World Wide Web: https://www.cecc.gov 2020 ANNUAL REPORT CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA ANNUAL REPORT 2020 ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION DECEMBER 2020 Printed for the use of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China ( Available via the World Wide Web: https://www.cecc.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 40–674 PDF WASHINGTON : 2020 CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS House Senate JAMES P. MCGOVERN, Massachusetts, MARCO RUBIO, Florida, Co-chair Chair JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma MARCY KAPTUR, Ohio TOM COTTON, Arkansas THOMAS SUOZZI, New York STEVE DAINES, Montana TOM MALINOWSKI, New Jersey TODD YOUNG, Indiana BEN MCADAMS, Utah DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California CHRISTOPHER SMITH, New Jersey JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon BRIAN MAST, Florida GARY PETERS, Michigan VICKY HARTZLER, Missouri ANGUS KING, Maine EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS To Be Appointed JONATHAN STIVERS, Staff Director PETER MATTIS, Deputy Staff Director (II) CONTENTS Page Section I. Executive Summary ................................................................................ 1 a. Statement From the Chairs ......................................................................... 1 b. Overview ....................................................................................................... 3 c. Key
    [Show full text]
  • 1 in the United States District Court for the Western
    Case 6:20-cv-00693 Document 1 Filed 07/29/20 Page 1 of 19 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS WACO DIVISION § TRILLER, INC., § Case No. 6:20cv693 § Plaintiff, § vs. § JURY TRIAL DEMANDED § BYTEDANCE LTD., and TIKTOK, INC., § § Defendants. § § COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Triller, Inc. (“Triller”) files its Complaint in this patent infringement action against Defendants ByteDance Ltd. and TikTok, Inc. (“Defendants”). NATURE OF THE CLAIMS 1. This is an action for patent infringement. Triller alleges that ByteDance and TikTok infringe U.S. Patent No. 9,691,429 titled “Systems and methods for creating music videos synchronized with an audio track” (“the ’429 Patent,” attached as Exhibit A) (the “Asserted Patent”). 2. Triller is the developer and distributor of the innovative Triller social video platform application for iOS and Android. The Triller application is a leading entertainment platform built for creators in the social video community. The Triller application allows its users to create and share their own music video creations; its platform is built around innovative technology and intellectual property that provides users with the ability to create flawless, synchronized videos and to share those videos with other users in just seconds. Triller has invested enormous time and resources building its social platform, and took particular care to 1 Case 6:20-cv-00693 Document 1 Filed 07/29/20 Page 2 of 19 protect its intellectual property. Examples of Triller’s innovative platform and social video interface are reproduced below: Source: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/triller-social-video-platform/id994905763.
    [Show full text]