Counterfeit gorillas, disputed racers in China’s battlefield of fakes

Amid the haze of vape fog shrouding the four packed halls of the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Centre, disputes simmered over alleged trademark violations and cloned e-liquids. At least one distributor had to pack up and leave after an enforcement action by lawyers of an e-liquid bottling company.

So goes the Wild East of the Chinese e-cigarette scene at the IECIE eCig Expo held 14th-16th April in Shenzhen.

“Counterfeiting is happening to all the major brands around the world here,” one American e-liquid producer told ECigIntelligence. “We go in and enforce our IP [intellectual property]. We’ve spent millions of dollars on IP enforcement and will continue spending.”