Hana Modz Awarded $300,000 for Copyright Infringement

[Browncoat]

http://www.v4p3r.com/hana-modz-awarded-300000-for-copyright-infringement/

The lawsuit was filed nearly a year ago in May of 2014, and strongly divided the vaping community.

While some viewed Hana’s actions as setting a precedent in the fight against clones, others viewed it as picking on the little guy because litigating against Chinese cloning companies is nearly impossible.

Will this discourage local vape stores from carrying clone products in the future?

@VaporJoes

 

[Spike64]

Local stores wont have to carry clones of them...they wont need the authentics either...in the time that has passed since the lawsuit was filed, China has started producing some excellent regulated box mods of which many are considered better than what Hana produces at a cost that is often far less than what the historically uber high priced Hana products costs...they can just stock those and sell the shit out of them. These days, the Hana mod isnt really considered as awesome as some folks used to think it was while they were paying up the ass for them...

That being said, wasnt this more about trademark infringement? It's hard to sue for putting chips in what looks like a generic aluminum box (the Hana box sure looks pretty plain and generic)...if so, clones will still exist, only without the logo, which is fine with me...If people cant live without a trademarked logo (not all makers trademark their logos), they will likely just order directly from China to get it...

I doubt that Hana will ever collect a penny from Ill Vapes...if they havent folded up already, they probably will real quick or file bankruptcy or something along those lines...

 

[db3]

All the outrage that took place when Hana decided to file to protect their trademark (which I always thought was smart business) is now hardly remembered - the reaction to this is barely noticeable that I've seen... Maybe that's a result of some vapers "growing up" as you've alluded to before? Spike makes a good point that your headline is a bit off - copyright and trademark are different beasts - using Hana's pictures to sell fake goods is copyright infringement, using the H logo is trademark infringement - pretty sure the main issue was the trademark. Spike is also right that Hana will be lucky to recoup their cost for these lawsuits. Although, it can be argued the results justified the means - that being counterfeit Hana devices aren't really an issue in the current market - if you want a box with an "H" on it you are more than likely buying authentic. Due to the quick evolution of devices even "hana style" boxes aren't that popular any longer with budget oriented consumers (eg - sigelei's, ipv's, and isticks are certainly outselling anything hana style), but from what I can tell, Hana is still pumping out and selling their products (albeit to a rather specific consumer type), so the whole escapade was most likely a win for them.

 

[Browncoat]

The word "copyright" appears 26 times in the legal document, while "trademark" appears only 12. The headline is not off, as both were issues brought forth by this lawsuit.

As for the reaction, you're right. No one is really talking about this anymore. Like all controversies, they tend to fade away after a year.

 

[VapedCrusader]

but we had 17 different threads and countless videos and live discussions on Rip Tripper.. go figure lol