here for posterity. Since Matt's part is addressed to all of us, as the 'vaping community', I don't see any copyright issues.
When you get a story, it's always good to get the other side of it as well. I was contacted by Matt regarding the "Cease and Desist" letter delivery video. Matt respectfully requested that I tell his side of the story, which I gladly accepted and agreed to post here.
Thank you Matt for telling your side. Next time... remain calm brother, sit back, and let THEM hang themselves. Let's use some of that energy and anger and direct it at the ones who have the ability to do the most damage... the FDA!
Here you go...
"To the vaping community, I was the one that recorded the incident at ECC, and I am also in the video. First off, let me apologize for my friend and myself to the community and Kryptonite Tanks (Who I am not associated with) for our behavior. I look back at the video and realize we acted unprofessionally and in bad form. If we could go back, we would have done it differently and just served iJoy the papers and walked away. There is a side to the story that you haven't heard though, which is the actual events that occurred. What actually took place at ECC with the iJOy booth and staff was absurd, as I watched them sell several counterfeits as authentics at authentic prices on many pieces. They have reportedly been an issue since day one according to several reports. I do correspond and communicate with many authentic modders in the industry, and to add to this, you must understand that ECC had a no clones policy in their contract that all vendors signed and agreed to, to my understanding.The iJoy booth had been approached on many occasions over the course of three days. The first I heard of what was going on is when I came across Jay Bo, the creator of the TOBH, who was visibly upset. I asked him what happened? He told me he approached the iJoy booth because they were selling clone TOBH atomizers and the TOBH creator asked that they be removed from display, and the manager of the iJoy booth responded with "What are you going to do motherfu**er? Call the f**king cops!". So i decided to look in to this. I walked by and inspected their booth. Now, I do not work for any of these modders, but I do protect their work and I had caught wind that the iJoy booth were selling clones as authentics, which now makes them counterfeits (Actually, any clone with exact replication of the original's trademarked logos is a counterfeit by definition of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary). I watched as they sold Manhattan clones for authentic prices (At $160 a piece). The only authentic equipment on their table were the actual iJoy products. I looked at their table and saw TOBH clones, Mutant clones (Including a copper Mutant clone exactly like the one that exploded at Vape Blast), Stillare clones, a Skeleton Key clone, 454 Big Block clones, King clones, Patriot clones and many others. Now, all of the ones I listed except the Skeleton Clone were clones of authentics that were being sold at ECC by the actual makers themselves. I decided to inform the owner of Fallout Mods that this booth was selling copper Mutant clones as authentics. He decided to visit the booth himself. I followed to listen to what was said and see what happened. The owner of Fallout Mods and his friend approached the booth and picked up the copper Mutant clone and asked the employee at the iJoy if they were real. The owner replied yes. The owner of Fallout informed them that they were selling clones and requested that the Mutant clones be removed, which they did not comply, then one of the other employees that you see in the video (The younger male) decided to be cocky and inquire to buy 5000 units from the owner of Fallout mods, to which the Fallout Mods owner denied on premise that he would not sell tom someone that is selling counterfeits of his product. On our way from the booth my friend and I spotted the Stillare, Patriot, and 454 clones. I knew the Kryptonite Tanks booth was 4 rows down, I informed them that the iJoy booth was carrying clones on their product. They happened to have their attorney on hand, who proceeded to to fill out a Cease and Desist order on the spot. For reference: "Individuals and companies can also issue cease and desist orders directly, usually using a lawyer to draft the document so that it will adhere to the law. These documents typically threaten the subject with legal action unless he or she ceases an activity. A company, for instance, might issue such an order to someone who was releasing trade secrets, or an individual might write up a cease and desist letter against someone who is engaging in harassment. When someone receives a cease and desist order, whether it is from a court or an individual, they should ask a lawyer to review it. The lawyer can study the terms of the order to determine whether or not it is valid. If it is invalid, the lawyer can challenge it, although temporary adherence to the document is usually recommended to show that the target of the order is not being belligerent or uncooperative. ". Now, my friend and I, along with the attorney, went to the iJoy booth and my friend served them papers, and in response to being served, the manager of the iJoy booth tore up the Cease and Desist order, so we notified security who was actually present. The attorney informed security that she needed their names and booth number for legal record. At this point we followed her back to the Kryptonite booth and she filled out another Cease and Desist order so once again my friend could deliver it. My friend and I headed on our way to deliver the C&D order which is where the video starts. What happened was not what was supposed to go down. As we approached the table, the manager of the booth told me to "Stop f*cking recording and get the f*ck out of here", and my friend put the C&D order on the display table at the booth. At this point they kept yelling "F*ck you" and called us "pieces of sh*t". This got the best of us and we lost composure. At this point the younger employess grabbed the Cease and Desist letter and crumbled it up and attempted to throw it at me, which at that point I did point it out that it is considered assault. Their response was "I'm going to kick your fat ass". Now, due to the fact that I was bullied as a kid and throughout my teenage years, I developed PTSD, which is triggered by threats of physical violence ans well as actual physical violence against me. I completely lost my composure at this point. I called them out for everything. I called them out for selling clones at a no clone event, to which they replied "They aren't cl;ones" and you here me respond with "You're right, they are counterfeits". At that point that is admission that they blatantly lied to deceive the consumer in to believing that they were buying authentic items. This kept escalating until; we walked away, and yes, we were still infuriated about the blatant deceitfulness of the staff at the iJoy booth and disregard for the contract they signed and for the modders that paid to display their work and the rules others had to follow. I do apoligize for my reaction and should not have fed in to their threats and lose my composure the way I did, but I do not take being threatened lightly. Now, the video was circulated due to theft of my copyrighted material (The video that has been circulated) whichy is copyrighted under my photography company. It was accidentaly uploaded to a private Facebook page, which at this point was downloaded without my consent or expressed written permissiont by Joe Petner of VaperJoe's, in which he, in turn, uploaded to Youtube, LiveLeak and MegaUpload., which in turn he posted to his Vaping Underground page to spread a false version of what happened (He credits a mystery source and has screen caps of private conversations) which has resulted in several threats of violence made towards me. All I want is for everyone to know what really happened. I did not mean for a negative image to be brought on the vaping community, but I did not want to see consumers continue to be ripped off and misled in to believing they were buying an authentic product and being taken advantage of. I have been a long time supporter of this industry and the consumers and the people that it has saved, I have been an active activist for vaper's rights and had a major p[art in removing over regulation from San Bernardino County which seeked to ban electronic cigarettes (I really dislike that description of vaporizers). I am a member of CASAA and Vaping Militia and Stand And Vape and several pro-vaping organizations, the last thing I would want is to damage the reputation of this community. This wasn't about clones vs. authentics, this was about a company committing fraud against the consumer. Respectfully, Matthew W."
What a wall of text! And hardly any hint of repentance at being a central party to such an ugly drama.
No, Matt, the 'leaking' of the video and most other things you mention are irrelevant to how you and your group behaved. The timeline runs one way only - you did that shit, and
Why are you only now claiming that they were doing that, when previous statements have not?
Why didn't you concentrate on gathering that evidence, rather than evidence of your group's thuggish attitude?
I'm in no position to judge on whether ijoy were guilty of what you claim or not, but it would still be no excuse for your behaviour.
TBH, I would also have responded with a few 'fuck you's if you rocked up serving 'papers' for a second time simply for your camera's benefit, whether guilty or not.
