Love Miracle’s domestic trademark application was rejected: The brand concerns of Chinese e-cigarette companies behind the dispute over the “ELFBAR trademark”
The trademark "ELFBAR" applied by Love Miracle (Shenzhen) Technology Co., Ltd. was rejected. According to the trademark process status, the trademark registration application was launched on May 9, 2023, but was rejected on February 24, 2024.
In response to this matter, ELFBAR responded to 2FIRSTS that the rejection was due to the large number of imitation and plagiarized ELFBAR trademarks on the market. ELFBAR has taken corresponding legal action, saying that the trademark "will eventually be approved for registration"; but as to whether it will really be so smooth, 2FIRSTS interviewed Tang Shunliang, a practicing lawyer with senior experience in the fields of new tobacco and intellectual property, and the other party asked. 2FIRSTS said that ELFBAR’s domestic trademark registration situation is “not optimistic” for Aimirizi.
Late "bill"
Lawyer Tang Shunliang told 2FIRSTS that the ELFBAR trademark dispute encountered by Love Miracle was caused by mistakes in trademark registration at home and abroad. The trademark registration mistakes in the early stage of Love Miracle also occurred in foreign markets. In the United States, ELFBAR has also been involved in trademark disputes, but as a defendant brand.
As early as July 2021, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected the registration of the "ELFBAR" trademark in the United States because "ELFBAR" was similar to "ELF" under VPR, which was submitted in November 2017 and approved in May 2018; then in 2023 In February, the U.S. Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued a judgment order, "approving the "Order on the Motion for Preliminary Injunction [ECF No. 5]" of the plaintiff VPR Brands LP and rejecting the defendant Shenzhen Weiboli Technology Co., Ltd. and others' request for a retrial. motion". According to the judge’s order, Shenzhen Weiboli Technology Co., Ltd. stopped the marketing activities of its “ELFBAR” brand electronic cigarettes throughout the United States.
This series of domestic and foreign trademark registration errors has led to the current difficulties that Aimiracle is encountering, and this is not an isolated case. The reason why many Chinese e-cigarette brands have encountered this round of legal crisis is that a large number of domestic e-cigarette factories did not carry out "OEM processing" well in the early stages of business development simply with the idea of making money. Brand building, but "win by quantity", in the hope of "casting a wide net" to produce individual hot models in a massive product line, so that the high profits of these hot models can cover other sunk costs, can be regarded as a business success.
However, the consequence of neglecting the initial investment is now the belated "bill". Lawyer Tang Shunliang told 2FIRSTS that what Love Miracle is experiencing is a "necessary pain" for Chinese manufacturers to move from OEM to branding. Such mistakes in trademark registration at home and abroad will force domestic manufacturers to hand over the initiative to others, especially overseas dealers. This will result in high rights protection costs in terms of time and money, and the trademark that Aimiracle hopes to register this time may not be Can be approved.
How to eliminate risks at the beginning of building a brand, improve and maintain the "moat" of overseas trademarks, and minimize the impact from external speculators - this will be the starting point for Love Miracle and even other future plans. Issues that e-cigarette companies and brands planning to go overseas need to study.
Many domestic companies have registered trademarks containing "ELFBAR"
In the database available on the China Trademark Online, there are 59 trademarks submitted for registration based on "ELFBAR". There are 7 trademarks owned by other than Love Miracle (Shenzhen) Technology Co., Ltd. and registered by 6 business entities. , all occurring between 2022 and 2023.
La Capnilla Wholesale was the first to register the trademark "ELFBAR USA" in August 2022. This subject has "no such person" in mainstream public databases such as Tianyancha, but has applied for multiple trademarks under the international classification "34 Tobacco Smoking Accessories". In addition to ELFBAR, the well-known brands involved also include FLUM.
Disco (Dongguan) Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. subsequently registered a similar "ELFBARUSA" trademark at the end of September 2022. The font color is slightly different and there is no space between the two words. But there is no business intersection with Love Miracle. During the previous investigation of Hong Kong’s e-cigarette underground market, one of the products purchased by 2FIRSTS was produced by the same company marked on the packaging, and the product did not pass anti-counterfeiting verification. The company also has several trademarks registered under its name that are similar to big brands.
Shenzhen Weipu Times Technology Co., Ltd. later registered the trademark "ELFBAR ORIGINAL" in October 2022, which means "original ELFBAR". According to public information, the company was established in 2016 with a subscription amount of 5 million yuan. Its main office is in Bao’an District, Shenzhen City. It belongs to the e-commerce industry. Its business scope includes e-cigarettes and electronic atomization equipment, but it has no business with Aimiracle. intersection.
Dongguan Yizhidong Technology Co., Ltd. also registered the trademark "ELFBARCN" in October 2022. The company was established in 2020 and its registered address is Humen Town, Dongguan City, Guangdong Province. Its business scope includes research and development, production, and sales of e-cigarettes and accessories (excluding online sales). However, the public information does not show any business relationship with Love Miracle. intersection.
Earlier in July of the same year, it intensively registered multiple smoking accessories trademarks related to "Love96" and "LOVE96". So far, there are no products on the market, but products such as LAFI 6500 PUFFS include products with the same name. Flavor name.
Shenzhen Haibo Atomization Technology Co., Ltd. registered two trademarks called "ELFBAR CLOUDS" on the same day in April 2022, but the public information does not show any business overlap with Aimiracle. Some similar trademarks registered by this company also involve ELUX. Its permitted business items are the import and export of goods, and the business category registered with the customs is also the consignee and consignor of imported and export goods.
Dora International Co., Ltd. was newly established in April 2023, and registered "ELFBAR GOLD BAR" in August of the same year, but the public information does not show any business intersection with Love Miracle. In less than a year since its establishment, the company has intensively applied for multiple trademarks involving well-known brands, including ELFBAR and CRYSTAL BAR.
The six registered entities are all involved in the new tobacco business, but most of them have no direct relationship with Ai Miracle in upstream and downstream appointments such as OEM. These trademarks have hindered the domestic trademark registration process of ELFBAR, and have also partially caused the proliferation of non-compliant products bearing the name "ELFBAR" in the U.S. market. And ELFBAR is not the only well-known brand involved in the trademarks registered by these companies.
2FIRSTS will continue to track cases of trademark squatting and even fraudulent use.
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