According to foreign news reports today, ELFBAR will continue to appeal the initial court decision and fight for its brand name and replace it with EBDESIGN trademark to avoid risks in the US market. The company recently released a statement to explain the matter.
The following is the full text:
On Thursday, February 23, we were disappointed to learn that in an ongoing trademark infringement dispute with VPR Brands, LP (VPR), the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida granted VPR’s motion for a preliminary injunction requesting that our partner cease sales of our ElfBar-branded products in the United States, And deny our motion to supplement the record of the motion with favorable consumer survey evidence obtained in recent weeks regarding the likelihood of consumer confusion.
Upon learning of this order, we took immediate action to appeal the District Court’s preliminary injunction to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. We also ask the District Court to stay its order pending appeal. One of our distributors has also filed a petition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to cancel VPR’s registration of the ELF trademark.
In October 2022, VPR filed a lawsuit against our brand and several resellers alleging infringement of the ELF trademark and patent infringement in its registration. Over the past two years, VPR has filed a number of lawsuits against manufacturers and distributors of single-use e-cigarette products alleging infringement of alleged patents, often voluntarily dismissing them when challenged on their merits or settling claims for relatively small amounts.
We have vigorously defended our legal position in this matter and maintain ongoing positive communication with our industry partners, both of which we plan to continue as we move forward.
Although we are disappointed with the District Court’s preliminary order, we have a U.S. trademark registration for the unique bubble and flower design logo that is well known to our users, and we will continue to offer the same products bearing that registered design logo. In order to protect the interests of our users and partners, we have decided to launch a new brand for these products called EBDESIGN, with the design logo shown above. We are taking steps to protect the EBDESIGN trademark in the United States and elsewhere.
Our new brand EBDESIGN products have the same functions as our previous brand products. Please support us in our ongoing brand transformation and we are confident that we will handle this responsibly.
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As the United States is one of our key markets, EBDESIGN products will continue to offer choice, quality and trust to our local customers. We are fully committed to consistently delivering best-in-class products and unmatched customer support.