Case 6:20-cv-00810-ADA Document 25-1 Filed 11/30/20 Page 1 of 7
`Case 6:20-cv-00810-ADA Document 25-1 Filed 11/30/20 Page 1 of 7
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`EXHIBIT A
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`Case 6:20-cv-00810-ADA Document 25-1 Filed 11/30/20 Page 1 of 7
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`EXHIBIT A
`EXHIBIT A
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`Case 6:20-cv-00810-ADA Document 25-1 Filed 11/30/20 Page 2 of 7
`REDACTED VERSION
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`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
`WACO DIVISION
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`10TALES, INC.,
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`Plaintiff,
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`v.
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`Civil Action No. 6:20-CV-810-ADA
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`TIKTOK INC.,
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`Defendant.
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`DECLARATION OF NICOLA RAGHAVAN
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`I, Nicola Raghavan, do hereby declare and state as follows:
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`1.
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`I am over 18 years of age and competent to make this declaration. I have either
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`personal knowledge of the matters set forth in this declaration or I have learned them through
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`reasonable investigation, and if called upon as a witness, I could and would testify competently to
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`them.
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`2.
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`I am employed as the Head of Human Resources at TikTok Inc. (“TTI”). I have
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`been employed by TTI since March 2020.
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` Unless otherwise indicated, the statements made in this declaration with regard to TTI
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`are based on my personal knowledge, corporate records maintained by TTI in the ordinary course
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`of its business, and/or as a result of consulting with company employees. I also received certain
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`information about Bytedance Ltd. (“BDL”) and Bytedance Inc. (“BDI”) in order to confirm the
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`statements made herein about those entities.
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`3.
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`“TikTok” is the name of a software application, a brand, and a trademark (not
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`owned by TTI).
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`In this
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`DocuSign Envelope ID: 8F135FAD-C7E2-4BC4-8D3C-BB2FFE801C24
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`Case 6:20-cv-00810-ADA Document 25-1 Filed 11/30/20 Page 3 of 7
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`declaration, references to “TikTok Inc.” or “TTI” are references to the U.S. corporate entity, and
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`references to the “TikTok app” are to the software application.
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`4.
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`TTI is a California corporation with its principal place of business in Culver City,
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`California.
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`5.
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`I understand that in this litigation, certain aspects of the TikTok app’s
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`recommendation system are at issue. I further understand the case may involve functionality
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`supplied by the operating system or mobile device on which the TikTok app is running, specifically
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`iOS and Android, and/or the functionality may implicate the users that create content or use the
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`TikTok app.
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`6.
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`TTI is not incorporated in the State of Texas.
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`7.
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`8.
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`To my knowledge and based on my investigation, TTI has never been listed in any
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`address or telephone directory in Texas or maintained an address or telephone number in Texas.
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`-2-
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`DocuSign Envelope ID: 8F135FAD-C7E2-4BC4-8D3C-BB2FFE801C24
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`Case 6:20-cv-00810-ADA Document 25-1 Filed 11/30/20 Page 4 of 7
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`9.
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`TTI is a subsidiary of TikTok LLC. TTI is
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` TTI is part of a family of companies that are ultimately owned by
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`BDL, which is a holding company based outside the United States. An organizational chart
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`showing TTI’s position in its corporate family is publicly available at http://bytedance.com/en/.
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`While I do not work for BDL, I was able to confirm my understanding that as a holding company,
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`10.
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`BDL and BDI are separate legal entities from TTI.
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`11.
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`I understand that
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`developed and deployed with the recommendation system feature that is at issue in the case.
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`, which was after the TikTok app was
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`12.
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`I have reviewed Exhibits B and C to 10Tales’ Complaint against TTI. While
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`Exhibit C is entitled “TikTok Careers,” and is a printout from careers.tiktok.com, as of September
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`2, 2020 (the date of the Complaint),
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`For example, Exhibit B appears to be the LinkedIn page of Ashley Brown. While Ms. Brown lists
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`DocuSign Envelope ID: 8F135FAD-C7E2-4BC4-8D3C-BB2FFE801C24
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`Case 6:20-cv-00810-ADA Document 25-1 Filed 11/30/20 Page 5 of 7
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`her job as “Office Administrator at ByteDance/TikTok,”
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`13. While TTI lacks any connection with Texas, TTI has a large presence in California.
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`14.
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`TTI employees in California focus on the
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`DocuSign Envelope ID: 8F135FAD-C7E2-4BC4-8D3C-BB2FFE801C24
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`Case 6:20-cv-00810-ADA Document 25-1 Filed 11/30/20 Page 6 of 7
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`15.
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`16.
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`The TikTok app runs on Apple iOS and Google Android operating systems, and is
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`downloaded onto users’ mobile phones through the Apple or Google app store. Both Apple and
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`Google have well-known world headquarters in Cupertino and Mountain View, California,
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`respectively.
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` Apple
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`and Google employees based in Cupertino and Mountain View, California, respectively with
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`regard to the TikTok app and their respective mobile operating system platforms.
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`17.
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`I have reviewed Exhibit F to 10Tales’ Complaint containing the TikTok Privacy
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`Policy. As shown in the TikTok Privacy Policy, TikTok app users can choose to register to use
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`the TikTok app using details of their social network accounts, such as Facebook, Instagram,
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`Twitter, and Google. Each of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google have well-known world
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`headquarters in the San Francisco and surrounding area.
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`-5-
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`DocuSign Envelope ID: 8F135FAD-C7E2-4BC4-8D3C-BB2FFE801C24
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`Case 6:20-cv-00810-ADA Document 25-1 Filed 11/30/20 Page 7 of 7
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`18.
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`Content creation and content creators are important to TTI.
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`Similarly, the offices of the four major talent agencies (which interact with content creators) are
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`located in California.
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`I declare under penalty of perjury that to the best of my knowledge the foregoing is true
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`and correct. Executed on November 19, 2020, in Los Angeles, California.
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`________________________
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`-6-
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`DocuSign Envelope ID: 8F135FAD-C7E2-4BC4-8D3C-BB2FFE801C24
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