Though we’re gifted with a quite fruitful market where manufacturers are consistently raising the bar by developing new and innovative products, we’re also cursed with a stain-filled market. I first ask that you pause with the confusion and allow me to explain more in-depth. You see, although our market comes packed with plenty of products that surely keep us elevated and enjoying the life of vaping, we have some manufacturers that I consider to be stains; the type you simply just can’t get rid of no matter what you do.
These specific manufacturers are the ones that force themselves within the market and release products that breach intellectual property rights. It’s called IP infringement, and there are many manufacturers that exploit the use of these protected rights by using or copying work without proper permission. I refer to these types of manufacturers as stains because it’s something that can’t be undone once it goes public. From the very moment these manufacturers commit IP infringement, it’s often spread throughout many publications, be it simply from interest, to rant about like I am doing, or by the manufacturers themselves. As many of you know by using social media today, once something is published online, it’s there forever and there is no ‘undo’ button. There are people within the government, groups, and competing companies that are looking for material just like this in an effort to shut vaping down or to at least impose harsher restrictions.
While many of us consumers feel safe, as if we’re going to have the right to continue vaping various flavors and using product we want, that assumption is far from the truth if we continue to support and allow these manufacturers to conduct this type of business in a market that we have the ability to control. As an example used for this article, I want you to meet Brian Werner, Director of Sales for Lifted Liquids and a new brand under their umbrella called Vape Heads Sour E-Liquids. It’s a brand recently released infringing upon Warheads Candy, a sour or tart candy manufactured by Impact Confections. It’s one thing to design your labels, packaging or logo to feature similar colors and whatnot, but to create a logo for the brand that looks nearly identical is nothing short of stupid. Not only is this manufacturer breaking the law but they’re also stealing work, such as the design, from a company that was dubbed the “$40 million brand.”
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For reference, you can see the remarkable similarities between the two brands logos. I’m sharing this today because I have a passion for this industry, I want it to thrive, and that’s not possible when our market is being stained by manufacturers that disregard the law, have no morals, and conduct business in a distasteful fashion. Companies like this are desperate and crave attention to sell their product as quickly as possible, so today I’m giving them the attention they so deserve.
I often scroll throughout Facebook looking at recent status updates. There are two people who are very vocal about this topic, both Dimitris Agrafiotis and Chris Winfrey. I would like to acknowledge them both for continuing to bring it to our attention and reminding us of how wrong and distasteful it is to steal someone else’s work. As many of you are aware, Guide To Vaping has been active sharing articles since 2011 and many of those articles are copied by other blogs that lack the ability to produce original, quality content. With that said, it hits home when someone else’s work is being used without permission.
Thank you Chris Winfrey from TradeNVape for sharing this in your recent Facebook status update.
Agreed! Do we have any stain remover? …Our bottles may not be that exciting, but it’s by design. We do not sell candy, and sure as hell don’t view IP infringement as good for the industry. #VapeHappyNotStupid
Unfortunately, stain remover will not clean up this mess. However, we can prevent them. Thank you for doing your part, The Plume Room!
We do our best to make sure that we have original art for our products and names! Thanks for bringing attention to this as I see it all over and it always disturbs me.