March 4, 2019
Dear Valued Customers:
It has come to our attention that an illegal Korean operator has been falsely advertising as if they are manufacturing AQUAGOLD® fine touch™ as a private label.
We would like to assure you that we, Aquavit Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its subsidiaries manufacture our own products, hold all the intellectual property rights, patents, and registrations related to our AQUAGOLD® technology. We distribute directly with an exception to certain countries, where we have authorized distributors and through our direct online channel www.aquagoldfinetouch.com. Any other web sites claim to sell AQUAGOLD® fine touch™are falsely advertising and distributing counterfeit products.
The illegal operators show fake patent certificates, and registrations, copy of our original art and, in particular, an illegal Korean operator, has been reaching out to our customers trying to sell the counterfeit products. They call themselves “aquagold fine touch” on various social media channels (e.g. under a nail salon category in Facebook).
The fake AQUAGOLD® products may appear similar to our original device. The illegal operators have photoshopped our Trademarked logo and are producing the same box packaging. They applied for a new trademark “AQUAGOLD your time is now fine touch” in various countries to confuse our customers with our original brand AQUAGOLD® fine touch™.Please see attached screenshot of the official and final decision by Korean Intellectual Property Office rejecting such application as it infringes on our rights.
The most serious concern is safety. The counterfeit products are often made of non-medical grade materials and in the facilities that do not follow quality assurance requirements. Some of the main safety concerns include:
Cheap industrial plastic of unknown origin
Non-surgical grade steel and glass
No 24-karat gold plating
No micro channels, instead, straight needles with large holes on the plastic cover
Irregular and random thickness and length of needles
No proper sterilization processes, if at all. (dust and hair have been found)
Using such products on your patients poses a great risk on your liability as a medical provider, a safety risk to your patients, and interfere with any improvement or advance in the technology development and innovation.
Our AQUAGOLD® team very much appreciates your support and loyalty in the past several years. We are very proud of our technology, intellectual property and product integrity. We would like to remind you that no matter how many original AQUAGOLD® products you have been using, any use of an illegal fake product in your practice eliminates our responsibility behind AQUAGOLD’s product integrity and safety in its entirety, and your liability from any treatment complications may jeopardize your practice and its insurance coverage.
We are working diligently to fight these crimes and we cannot do it without your help and continued support. Please notify us of any illegal activities to legal@aquavitpharma.com and help us protect our patients, providers, and our product integrity.
Sincerely,
Sobin Chang, MPH
Chief Executive Officer of Aquavit Pharmaceuticals, Inc.