Merlin has dropped part of its royalty lawsuit against Triller, but the case continues to threaten the TikTok rival with a possible default judgment just as it fights to stay on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
On Monday (October 20), a federal judge signed off on Merlin’s motion to voluntarily dismiss its complaint against Triller Hold Co LLC, one of the defendants named in the case.
The voluntary dismissal was filed without prejudice, meaning Merlin could refile against that entity later. The other defendant, Triller Group Inc., remains in the litigation.
Merlin sued Triller in March over allegedly unpaid music licensing fees, violating a licensing agreement the two had signed in 2020. According to the complaint, that agreement included a “most favored nation (MFN)” clause that requires Triller to make up the difference to Merlin if it offered higher licensing fees to another music company.
Merlin says it found out via a previous lawsuit against Triller (filed in 2022) that the short-form video platform had offered higher fees to another record company.
Following the partial dismissal of Triller Hold Co, Judge Jeannette Vargas instructed the court clerk not to close the case, keeping the pressure on the publicly traded parent company.
The company has until today (October 22) to “file any opposition to the motion for default judgment,” which was submitted on September 10. A hearing on the default judgment motion is scheduled for November 17, moved back a week from its original date after Merlin’s attorneys cited a scheduling conflict.
In its complaint filed last year, Merlin said it was seeking $2.55 million in unpaid licensing fees plus interest from Triller.
The latest development comes as Triller Group received a delisting determination letter from the Nasdaq Stock Market, warning that unless it requests a hearing, its shares would be suspended and delisted from the bourse on Thursday (October 23). Triller said it plans to request a hearing.
The delisting risk comes as the company failed to submit its annual 10-K report for the year ended December 31, 2024, along with quarterly 10-Q reports for the periods ending March 31 and June 30, 2025. Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, companies have to file these reports on schedule with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Nasdaq initially flagged the violations on August 19.
Aside from Merlin, Triller was also sued by Sony Music Entertainment in 2022 and by Universal Music Group in 2023 over unpaid licensing fees. In late 2024, a hedge fund owned by investment manager Yorkville Advisors sued Triller over an allegedly unpaid debt of $33.5 million. That debt had been taken on by AGBA, which merged with Triller in October 2024, making Triller a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq.
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