Company’s TikTok Live Account Enforced by Court to Offset Debt!
Company A, engaged in clothing trading, owed Mr. Zhou 3 months’ salary when he left in May 2022.
Mr. Zhou initiated labor arbitration. The arbitration committee ruled that Company A pay Mr. Zhou over CNY 40,000 in wages and compensation. After the ruling took effect and repeated demands went unpaid, Mr. Zhou applied for court enforcement.
The judge’s routine investigation found no enforceable assets under Company A’s name. The company’s legal representative claimed poor business and inability to pay, causing the case to stall.
Further investigation revealed that in addition to traditional clothing wholesale, Company A sold clothes via online live streaming, operating a TikTok account with hundreds of thousands of followers and commercial value.
The judge proposed to Mr. Zhou offsetting the debt with the TikTok account. Mr. Zhou, still in the clothing trade, agreed to take over the account. Under the judge’s supervision, Company A and Mr. Zhou signed a written agreement transferring the account, completed the change procedures, and the debt enforcement case was closed.
Notes:
If your company wins arbitration or litigation but the opposing party lacks traditional assets for enforcement, we suggests investigating whether they own new intangible assets with commercial value, such as TikTok accounts, Xiaohongshu accounts, Taobao or JD e-commerce stores, or WeChat public accounts. If so, you can apply to the court to treat them as enforcement assets, and to sign a written transfer agreement, and promptly complete the account change procedures.
Mike Chang
Partner
mikechang@shanghaiinvest.com