Tag: counterfeit

RELX Trains Saudi Officials to Help Fight Illicit Trade

Credit: Negro Elkha
RELX International concluded a training session with Saudi Customs Authority and Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property officials on May 25. The training aimed to complement Saudi officials’ efforts in fighting the illicit trade of contraband and counterfeit e-cigarettes in the kingdom.
The training covered several key aspects: discerning legal products from illegal ones; raising awareness and educating people about the consequences of the illegal trade of e-cigarettes; sharing research and intelligence on identifying illegal trading activities; collaborating with government officials to track and confiscate counterfeit products; and developing and implementing product authentication, tracking and tracing technologies. To facilitate the effectiveness of the training, RELX International collaborated with leading intellectual property firm SABA IP.
As part of RELX’s ongoing commitment to protecting the rights of legal e-cigarette users, and fighting the illicit trade if e-cigarettes under the Golden Shield Program, additional training sessions are planned in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan.
“As a responsible company, RELX frequently works with local authorities, investigation firms and e-commerce platforms to identify and remove contraband and counterfeit e-cigarette products from the market as part of the RELX Pledge,” said Robert Naouss, external affairs director, MENA & Europe at RELX International, in a statement.
“We are pleased to have been able to complete an in-depth training session with relevant Saudi authorities and applaud their tireless commitment to ensuring consumers in Saudi Arabia have access to authentic and reliable e-cigarette products at fair prices.”
RELX established the Golden Shield Program in August 2019 to help prevent the production and sale of the illicit goods. Since its establishment, the initiative has helped remove more than 550,000 fake products from the market, as well as over 77,000 websites.
May 31, 2022
RELX Warns Consumers of Growing Counterfeit Sales
Example of a fake RELX website selling unofficial RELX products
RELX International has warned consumers against purchasing its products through unofficial or unlicensed websites. “It has recently come to the attention of RELX International that a number of unlicensed persons or companies are attempting to profit off of the good and responsible reputation of the RELX brand in a number of markets, including Australia and Philippines,” the company stated in a press release.
“In addition to selling unlicensed and potentially fake products, these websites and social media channels have been disseminating a variety of unfounded claims about our products or e-cigarette products in general. RELX International only provides science-based information about our products and only sells products to adult smokers or vapers. Furthermore, RELX International never uses any cartoons or ‘kid-friendly’ images or videos in our branding.
“RELX International established the Golden Shield Program in 2019 to help prevent the production and sale of illicit e-cigarette goods such as those mentioned above. With the goal of safeguarding adult e-cigarette users’ right to access quality products, members of RELX International’s Golden Shield Program utilize large amounts of data and other technologies to track down illicit e-cigarette products sold online and offline. The Golden Shield team actively works with online social media platforms, online e-commerce platforms as well as Customs authorities to eliminate illicit vaping products from the market.
“The Golden Shield team has already helped authorities launch 28 criminal cases related to the illegal production and sale of illicit or copyright-infringing e-cigarette products. Over 77,000 websites and over 6,000 social media accounts have been taken down due to the Golden Shield team’s efforts, and 550,000 illicit products have been removed from the market.
“Moving forward we are committed to getting even more counterfeit products off the market.”
The release lists all the official RELX websites as well as provides an email address to confirm third-party websites that are selling authentic RELX products.
August 30, 2021
CBP Atlanta Seizes Nearly 20,000 Counterfeit Vape Pens
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers last week seized nearly 20,000 flavored vape pens worth nearly $600,000 in Atlanta. According to the agency, last Wednesday, CBP Atlanta officers found 66 boxes of “Ricky and Morty” branded vape pens and e-cigarettes as they were inspecting a shipment and suspected the items violated copyright and trademark law.
Credit: CBP
The vape pens, which originated in a shipment from China, were to be distributed across Georgia, according to a statement. CBP contacted Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and confirmed they hadn’t licensed their copyright of the animated series for vape pens. Officers ultimately seized the 19,800 vape pens with an estimated retail price of over $590,00.
“One of our primary missions is to intercept merchandise that could pose a serious health risk to the consumer, but this shipment of counterfeit vape pens violated Intellectual Property Rights,” said Paula Rivera, Atlanta’s CBP port director. “CBP collaborates with many government agencies to enforce laws to protect the health and safety of the consumer and our communities.”
In January, CBP Chicago seized 50,000 illegal “Rick and Morty” vape pens. CBP says each year, they seize millions of counterfeit goods that could otherwise hurt the U.S. economy, threaten consumers and fund criminal activity. Counterfeit items are often sold in underground outlets or on third-party e-commerce sites, according to CBP. Consumers might think they’re buying a genuine product but are left with a poor-quality item.
Last year, CBP seized nearly $1.3 billion worth of goods that violated intellectual property rights. The FDA announced an increased enforcement priority of electronic nicotine delivery systems, and issued detailed guidance to the industry of these new enforcement priorities that regulate the unauthorized importation of tobacco products.
CBP provides basic import information about admissibility requirements and the clearance process for e-commerce goods and encourages buyers to confirm that their purchases and the importation of those purchases comply with any state and federal import regulations.
CBP conducts operations at ports of entry throughout the United States, and regularly screens arriving international passengers and cargo for narcotics, weapons, and other restricted or prohibited products. CBP strives to serve as the premier law enforcement agency enhancing the Nation’s safety, security, and prosperity through collaboration, innovation, and integration.
June 24, 2021
Vape Shops Paying Price for Selling Counterfeit Products
A vape shop in Wyandotte County in the U.S. state of Kansas business has been ordered to pay $30,000 for selling counterfeit vaping products. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt says a Vinodbhai Patel, operator of Jay Ganegh, LLC, has been ordered to pay $30,000 in penalties for selling fake e-cigarette products.
Credit: Auremar / Dreamstime.com
The company was ordered to pay the civil penalties in a consent judgment that was approved on Tuesday in Wyandotte Co. District Court by Judge Constance Alvery, according to an article on wibw.com. Schmidt said the defendants were also ordered to reimburse the cost of the investigation into their business.
Schmidt said that the consumer protection judgment is the third reached by his office in the past six months that address counterfeit e-cigarette products discovered by his Tobacco Enforcement Unit. Schmidt said in October of 2020, Aaron Dune and Smoke Stax, LLC, were ordered to pay $5,000 in civil penalties and the costs of his investigation in a case filed in Sedgwick Co.
According to the ruling, the defendants knowingly misled customers by falsely representing e-cigarette products to be authentic branded merchandise when they were not. Schmidt said the products involved in the case included both vaping hardware and e-liquids, adding that additional investigations into counterfeit vaping products remain pending.
February 13, 2021
China Cracks Down on Counterfeit Juul Maker

Chinese authorities helped Juul Labs close down a manufacturer that allegedly counterfeited Juul brand vaping devices and sold the fake products overseas.
The operation was one of the largest ever broken up by the e-cigarette maker in its efforts to crack down on potentially dangerous counterfeit products that could make their way to underage buyers, company officials say.
According to a story in the New York Post, Shenzhen Kang Erqiang Electronic Technology Co. — which hawked bogus Juul vape devices and flavor pods under the name Sourvape Technology — sold about $324,000 worth of counterfeit items over a 16-month period starting in 2018, Juul said.
“While these are the numbers Chinese authorities used in court during prosecution, actual sales could be far more significant,” said Adrian Punderson, Juul’s vice president of brand enforcement.
The probe led to the August conviction of the Shenzhen factory’s operator, who confessed to his involvement in the scheme and was sentenced to more than three years in prison, Punderson said. Juul said it was informed of the conviction earlier this month.
The operation courted e-cigarette retailers and distributors with email blasts boasting about how perfectly it could produce Juul’s packaging, according to the startup. Juul officials learned about these emails in February 2019 and started an investigation, posing as a buyer to try and identify who was behind the scheme, the company said.
Juul reps ultimately got inside the counterfeiter’s factory in March of last year, where about 15 employees worked to churn out fake Juul products six days a week, according to the company, according to the story.
Juul said the operation was even producing pods in flavors such as mango and cucumber, which the company stopped selling in the US last year amid concerns about teens getting hooked on its e-cigarettes.
Juul passed on its findings to Chinese authorities, who launched their own probe and eventually seized 14,600 bogus items when they raided the factory in April 2019, according to Juul.
Juul says its efforts to crack down on counterfeiters have led to the seizure of more than 600,000 items worth close to $4 million over the past year. The shady manufacturers — who primarily operate in China — sell their products for as much as 65 percent below Juul’s standard wholesale price, but those products could be dangerous because they’re made in unsanitary conditions without proper testing or quality control, according to the company.
“As a leader in vapor technology, it is our obligation to support enforcement against illicit and illegal products as we strive to reset the vapor category and earn a license to operate in society,” Punderson said in a statement.
October 31, 2020
Puff Bar Owner Files $75 Million Suit for Counterfeits

DS Technology Licensing, the owner of registered trademarks associated with the Puff Bar vapor device and its distributor Puff Inc.filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against over 20 Chinese and American companies accused of distributing counterfeit vaping devices.
The companies included as defendants include international manufacturer and distributor CACUQ, US distributors, e-commerce companies, and brick and mortar retail stores. A list of current Defendants is below. Plaintiffs are represented by the law firm of Gallinger Law PC.
The lawsuit addresses both counterfeit “Puff Bar” vapor devices as well as knockoff products identified as “Puff Smart,” “Puff Mini,” “Puff Stig,” and “Airis Puff” and seeks $50 million in restitutionary and $25 million in punitive damages.
“Defendants in the lawsuit have infringed on the famous “Puff” and “Puff Bar” marks by introducing competing devices which use the stylized “Puff” associated with Puff Bar Vapor Devices as well as by openly selling fake or counterfeit Puff Bar vapor devices. Defendants are believed to be only a small number of the violators, as the anti-counterfeit verification system at puffbar.com has identified thousands of retail stores at which consumers bought devices which failed the check” the company said in a statement.
“Awards will be given to those with information which leads to the seizure of counterfeit goods. Contact 866-PUFF-BAR or report@puffbar.com for more info.”
October 2, 2020
Court Awards Smoore $5.4 Million in Counterfeit Lawsuits

A New York federal judge recently granted Vaporesso parent, Shenzhen Smoore Technology a $5.4 million default judgment and permanent injunction against over 100 defendants accused of selling counterfeit Vaporesso and other Smoore brand products.
The default judgment is for $50,000 dollars per defendant. Smoore filed the complaint in October alleging trademark counterfeiting and infringement against the defendants located mainly in China but conducting business in the U.S.
In the same lawsuits, Smoore settled with a significant number of defendant sellers who paid compensation for infringement and cooperated to identify their sources for the counterfeit products. The litigation demonstrates Smoore’s determination to protect its intellectual property rights in the jurisdiction of the United States.
Smoore has undertaken the lawsuits as part of an overall anti-counterfeiting program in the United States that includes cooperation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to seize counterfeit products. The damages may not be completely enforced, but Smoore is planning to enforce the default judgment in order to collect compensation.
September 17, 2020
Juul Labs Files Another Round of Lawsuits for Fake Pods

Credit: Eonsmoke
Juul Labs filed six trademark-infringement lawsuits in five states against shop owners it says are using the Juul name to sell products that are “fake, copied, and non-genuine versions of Juul Products and related packaging.”
The company said as many as 20 suits will be filed in the next 60 days in an effort to stop the “worst offenders” among retailers selling counterfeit e-cigarettes, part of an effort to shore up its bid with regulators to stay in the U.S. market, according to an article on Bloomberg.com.
The new legal round follow some four dozen lawsuits filed in July against companies Juul says are copying its patented designs for vaping cartridges. The U.S. International Trade Commission is considering a Juul request to block imports and sales of imported, unauthorized cartridges.
The trademark suits accuse companies of selling counterfeits and “gray market” products, meaning they were made for overseas markets but brought into the U.S. The lawsuits were filed in Alabama, New Hampshire, New York, Tennessee, and Texas, according to the article.
The suits are part of Juul’s “global enforcement program directed at disrupting the illicit trade of black-market vapor products to create a more responsible marketplace for current adult users while addressing under-age use,” the company said in a statement.
Juul is seeking orders that would halt sales, the profits from the unauthorized sales, and $2 million for each trademark violation.
August 16, 2020